To celebrate the civil rights leader, President Trump made sure to assert something that would have Martin Luther King Jr. turning in his grave.
Monday, January 20, was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an occasion where all the White people who condemned Colin Kaepernick for protesting during the national anthem at NFL games posted the civil rights leader's quotes all over their social media profiles. If you thought that was ironic, you probably aren't ready to read about what United States President Donald Trump recently posted on Twitter (but are we ever really ready for that? Quite possibly not). Taking to his favorite place to rant, he likened himself to MLK Jr. and was basically Mr. Braggadocious about the country's Black unemployment levels, The Independent reports.
Transporting us all to the day that America's democracy crumbled, the President posted, "It was exactly three years ago today, January 20, 2017, that I was sworn into office. So appropriate that today is also MLK Jr. Day. African-American unemployment is the LOWEST in the history of our country, by far. Also, best poverty, youth, and employment numbers, ever. Great!" Ah, yes, MLK Jr. Day, the one day in the year dedicated to recognizing the efforts of a monumental civil rights leader who took to the streets to fight injustice is absolutely the perfect moment to brag about your own achievements as a wealthy White cis male.
Moreover, there has been lots of evidence to suggest that Trump's assertions about employment levels - specifically Black employment - aren't fully true. There isn't much to necessarily hold the current President responsible for the record numbers. According to available data, Black unemployment levels have been steadily decreasing ever since 2011, long before Trump had a chance to taint the White House with his orange butt. This suggests that he didn't really have much to do with the decline. Eugene Scott, writing for The Washington Post, noted, "One might argue Trump deserves praise for overseeing the continued drop in unemployment, as he could have made harmful decisions that reversed the direction of the economy. But again, factors beyond the President’s actions also helped keep the economy moving in the right direction."
It's bad enough that we spend so much time reading about all the utter crap this President spews, but the fact that we spend even longer disproving his wacky assertions is even worse. When asked about how he'd be celebrating the civil rights leader and his accomplishments, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway simply said that the President "agrees with many of the things" King Jr. stood for, including "unity and equality." Conway went on to discuss his impending impeachment, claiming, ”He’s not the one trying to tear the country apart.” Apparently drawing another parallel to King Jr., she claimed his "vision” did not include “Americans dragged through the process where the president is not going to be removed from office."
If only Trump paid attention in History class, he'd know that King Jr.'s "vision" involved a lot more than impeachment for White supremacists in power. Someone should tell the President not to confuse MLK Jr. Day with April Fool's Day; he could have totally bamboozled us. Trump is possibly the first President to treat the national memorial day with such nonchalance, sadly displaying where his priorities and sentiments really lie. If we vote right in 2020, like King Jr. would have wanted us to, hopefully, we won't have to deal with another four years of this mess.