Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated for fighting for equality and justice for Black Americans, but unlike his predecessors across both parties President Donald Trump will do almost nothing to honor the memory of one of this nation’s greatest civil rights leaders. Again.
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday. President Donald Trump’s official public schedule is empty. He has no public events scheduled. And while not all of a president’s activities are listed in his public schedule, presidents before him have marked the holiday by giving speeches to honor the late civil rights icon, and dedicating themselves to doing good works, like volunteering.
Last year on this day President Trump played golf.
This is President Trump’s schedule for today:
NY Daily News columnist Brandon Friedman noted the differences between President Barack Obama’s efforts to honor Dr. King’s life and memory, and President Trump’s:
President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in 1999 donned jeans and work shirts and headed over to Regency House and swung hammers to help in the renovation of the D.C. senior health center, as The Independent reported. President George W. Bush in 2007 went to a D.C. public school to help students paint a mural.
Those were just a few of the many times these past presidents worked to honor Dr. King by setting the example with service and volunteerism. President Obama repeatedly called for the day to be “a national day of service.”
President Trump did issue a presidential proclamation marking today as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which, unlike his predecessors, he used to brag about what he claims are his successes for the Black community, by inserting a campaign-style message.
“We have added more than 5 million new jobs to the economy over the past 2 years and unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Americans without a high school degree have reached record lows,” Trump said.
You can read more about Dr. King at the King Center’s website.
UPDATE: 12:03 PM ET – TRUMP AND PENCE SPEND ‘ABOUT A MINUTE OR TWO’ AT MLK MEMORIAL AFTER MEDIA CRITICISM