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Trump accuses Spike Lee of 'racist hit' in Oscars speech after director called on the US to 'do the right thing' and vote him out in 2020

Feb 25, 2019, 17:40 IST

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President Donald Trump speaks during his meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)Associated Press
  • "BlacKkKlansman" director Spike Lee called on Americans to "mobilize" for the 2020 presidential election, implicitly calling on them to vote out President Donald Trump.
  • Trump responded by calling the speech a "racist hit on your President."
  • Lee made the speech while accepting an award for "BlacKkKlansman," which overtly links the Trump administration to racism and the KKK in early 1970s America.

President Donald Trump slammed director Spike Lee for launching a "racist hit on him" at Sunday's Academy Awards, during which Lee called on Americans to "mobilize" and "be on the right side of history."

Lee told the Oscars audience: "The 2020 presidential election is around the corner. Let's all mobilize, let's all be on the right side of history.

"Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let's do the right thing," he added, without mentioning Trump's name at all.

Watch the speech below.

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Trump responded in a Monday morning tweet: "Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to use notes at all, when doing his racist hit on your President, who has done more for African Americans (Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax Cuts,etc.) than almost any other Pres!"

It is not clear what in Lee's speech Trump considers racist.

Lee made the speech after winning an award for Best Adapted Screenplay for "BlacKkKlansman," which overtly links the Trump administration to racism and the KKK in early 1970s America.

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