Dr. Martin Luther King III has decided to meet with President-elect Donald Trump. The meeting comes as a surprise considering Trump’s confrontation with civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis.
As MLK Day weekend began, Trump lashed out after Lewis shared his thoughts on the president-elect during an interview with NBC. “Donald Trump has proven that his administration will normalize the most extreme fringes of the Republican Party. On Inauguration Day, I will not be celebrating. I will be organizing and preparing for resistance,” Lewis said.
In usual Trump fashion, he went to Twitter to speak out against Lewis. “Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk — no action or results. Sad,” Trump tweeted.
The tweet created a backlash across the country as some blasted Trump for disrespecting an American legend. Trump also canceled a visit to the National African American History Museum, which was to take place on MLK Day.
Lewis responded in a statement by writing, “Some leaders reject decades of progress and want to return to the dark past, when the power of law was used to deny the freedoms protected by the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and its Amendments.”
King III must confront Trump on his attack of Lewis and his racist views. Otherwise, it will just be another photo-op if he isn’t challenged.
Trump tweeted his support for King by posting, “Celebrate Martin Luther King Day and all of the many wonderful things that he stood for. Honor him for being the great man that he was!”
