Twice-impeached former president Donald Trump made history last week, when he became the first president — former or sitting — to be criminally indicted. But, according to Jimmy Fallon, that embarrassing piece of history will at least be scrubbed from the public consciousness in Florida.
On Tuesday, Trump was arraigned on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, to which he predictably pleaded not guilty. The charges stem from a 2016 payment of $130,000 made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who alleges that the money was paid by Trump in an effort to keep her quiet about an affair the two had.
Though hush money in and of itself is not illegal, the crime comes from the assertion made by former Trump fixer Michael Cohen that the money came from Trump’s campaign for president — which is decidedly a no-no per U.S. campaign finance law. And, whether he’s convicted or acquitted, Trump will always be the first president to have ever been indicted (and for now, the only one).
“Trump made history. The only good news for Trump, in Florida, all the history books have been thrown out,” Fallon joked on Tuesday. “So it’s all right.”
“The Tonight Show” host’s joke stems from the fact that, in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis is actively working to ban certain books in schools that he says promote “woke indoctrination.”
As a result, math textbooks have been reviewed for “prohibited topics,” DeSantis has banned the teaching of African-American studies, and the state plans to have social studies textbooks reviewed, as well. Throughout this process, residents of Florida have posted images of school libraries now barren, as the books have all been taken for review.
You can watch Fallon’s full monologue in the video above.
