Comedy legend Dave Chappelle told President Donald Trump to back off on his threats against the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio.
“Mr. Trump, please leave those Haitians in Springfield alone. We love them,” Chappelle, who lives a short drive from the city, said Friday on CNN. “We love the Haitians.”
Chappelle’s defense of the Haitian migrants came during CNN’s “Independence Eve” coverage, a New Year’s Eve-style celebration hosted by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.
Cohen asked Chappelle why he is “proud to be an American” and “how do you view our country today.”
“Boy, that’s a loaded question,” Chappelle said, then joked: “Now I see why Trump gets mad at y’all all the time. Why would you ask me that?”
“I don’t agree with everything that our government does,” he said. But he does believe in his countrymen.
“If I’m overseas or around the world, anytime I see an American over there, we just give each other the ‘Fight Club’ look, because we live in a madness that only we really understand what it’s all about,” he said, adding:
“And I have faith in my countrymen, no matter how crazy all of this will make it feel, that the sun will rise and that I feel like I’m part of a very incredible community. So God bless my countrymen and let us make this country absolutely great.”
Chappelle’s comments drew cheers from the live audience around him, and a toast from Cooper and Cohen.