Trump Inauguration Has Martin Luther King Rolling In His Grave
I Have A Nightmare—Martin Luther King Jr. Is Rolling Over In His Grave On Trump’s 2nd Inauguration Day [Op-Ed]
L–R: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. waves to supporters on August 28, 1963, on the Mall in Washington, D.C., where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, which mobilized supporters of desegregation and prompted the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Source: AFP / Getty Images. President Donald Trump gestures as he leaves after attending the “Salute to America” Fourth of July event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2019. Source: Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images. Art Design: Siobhan Dixon.
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an occasion to honor the life and legacy of one of America’s most impactful and beloved civil rights activists. Coincidentally, it is also Donald Trump’s second Inauguration Day in which he will make history as the first two-time impeached and convicted felon to be elected President of America.
The celebration of these opposed historical figures on the same day is wildly ironic, to say the least.
Martin Luther King Jr. leaving Harlem Hospital with his wife Coretta Scott King after being stabbed with a letter opener by Izola Ware Curry at a book signing in 1958. Source: TPLP / Getty
King was just that, a regal man of integrity who did not just promote civil disobedience, he practiced what he preached. A man of unwavering Christian faith, he believed in acts of service, altruism, and above all, “that all men are created equal.”
Then there’s Trump—a self-serving elitist whose idea of giving back is tossing paper towels into a crowd of Hurricane Maria survivors in Puerto Rico. As for faith and non-violent protest, let us not forget when Mr. MAGA used the military to tear gas peaceful George Floyd protesters to clear the way so he could take a press photo in front of a church holding the Bible.
President Donald Trump tosses a roll of paper towel into a crowd as he visits those affected by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. Source: Mandel Ngan / Getty
For many Black folks, including me, this strange coincidence feels sardonic and makes me feel unsettled. So, I cannot help but wonder if Dr. King’s soul was able to rest easy last night.
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A Long Road Back To The Cabin
The road to Martin Luther King Jr. Day becoming a federal holiday in the United States was long and arduous. President Ronald Reagan signed legislation to make it official in 1983, about 20 years after King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. The first nationwide observance took place in 1986 with several states still resistant to join the ranks. South Carolina was the last to relinquish, holding out up until 2000.
Fast forward 25 years and the Southern state is now represented by Tim Scott, the longest-serving Black senator in American history and the sole Black Republican in the Senate. Undoubtedly, a trailblazer in his own right, Scott is also a devoted Trump supporter and considered the ultimate “Uncle Tom” by many.
President Barack Obama takes the oath of office for his second term using Martin Luther King Jr.’s Bible on January 21, 2013, in Washington, D.C. Source: Ken Cedeno / Getty
Kismet Kinfolk
The irony continues as the last time Inauguration Day fell on MLK Day was in 2013, when Barack Obama was sworn in as President for a second term. In the presence of Bernice King, Dr. King and Coretta Scott King’s youngest child, America’s first Black President took his final presidential oath using a black leather Bible that belonged to King himself.
When the stars aligned on that day, it didn’t feel like a coincidence. It felt like fate. Piggybacking off his previous themes of “Hope” and “Change,” Obama maintained the optimism of his 2008 slogan “Yes, We Can.” Looking “Forward,” his vision for the future of America seemed promising and much more aligned with Dr. King who encouraged people to “never lose infinite hope.”
Haitians gather in front of the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince during a sit-in to express their dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump referring to African countries, Haiti, and El Salvador as “s—hole” nations during a meeting on January 11, 2018. Source: Pierre Michel Jean / Getty
King’s Dream Deferred
Conversely, when Trump formally announced his bid for the White House in June 2015 as a Republican—for two decades he repeatedly flip-flopped between different political parties—he immediately depicted a dystopia in which the “American Dream is dead.”
His dream for America is Black people’s worst nightmare and could not be further from that of MLK. The reality TV star turned politician is a dishonest megalomaniac who incessantly complains about “fake news” when it concerns him. Yet, he regularly propagates dangerous falsehoods like when he accused Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, of “eating the pets of the people that live there” during his presidential debate with Kamala Harris.
Using xenophobic stereotypes and relying on ignorance Trump aims to spread fear and create division. Through his rhetoric, actions, and policies he seems determined to take the country back to a time in history that Dr. King fought so hard to dismantle.
President Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. during a civil rights meeting at the White House in 1966. Source: Universal History Archive / Getty
MLK dreamt of “a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” In contrast, Trump’s dream promotes intolerance, injustice, and inequality, at least for people of color and any other marginalized groups who muddy his Norway-inspired dreamland.
A staunch and unapologetic (he never apologized to Obama) “birtherism” conspiracist, he dreams of an America in which Black people must show their papers to prove where they come from harkening back to the days of slavery. Furthermore, in the same vein as the Jim Crow era, Trump’s administration will resume efforts to restrict voting rights for many Americans, especially people of color.
On the other hand, King marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to pressure the government to sign new national voting rights legislation, ultimately contributing to President Lyndon B. Johnson passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
A bird’s eye view of the estimated 250,000 attendees who gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for Dr. King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. Source: Underwood Archives / Getty
An avid philanthropist Dr. King vowed, “I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity.” He showed compassion to those in need and encouraged generosity, asking, “What are you doing for others?” Meanwhile, Trump wants to build both literal and figurative walls to keep out “bad hombres” and enact policies that prevent the immigration of people from “s—hole” countries.
An Inflated Ego Is A Hell Of A Drug
Despite all the flagrant differences between the two, Trump is delusional enough to equate himself with MLK. In fact, at a news conference last August, he compared the “crowd” of approximately 53,000 of his supporters who gathered on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, to overturn the “rigged” results of the 2020 presidential election to the estimated 250,000 attendees at Dr. King’s historic speech at Lincoln Memorial in 1963.
When asked if the end of his first term could be considered a peaceful transfer of power despite the insurrection, Trump pivoted, instead taking the opportunity to compete and boast.
A bird’s eye view of Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration Day on January 20, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Source: Pool / Getty
“If you look at it, Martin Luther King, when he did his speech, his great speech. And you look at ours. Same real estate, same everything, same number of people, if not we had more,” he bragged. “Look at the picture of my crowd … we actually had more people.”
The attempted coup caused $1.5 million in damage to the building, left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer who was beaten by rioters, and, of course, threatened American democracy altogether. But did you see the size of his crowd?
With delusions of grandeur this extreme it’s probably safe to say Trump slept like a baby last night. Dr. King, however, may have needed an Ambien to quell the night terrors triggered by this recurring nightmare of yet another Trump administration. As for me … wake me up in four years.
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