Donald Trump made an unannounced visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. Perhaps he was going to truly honor the civil rights icon and offer a speech on MLK’s accomplishments? Then reality set in. This was just a quick photo opp, nothing more. He spent a total of 90 seconds at the monument (watch the full visit above). As for any sentiments to remember the civil rights icon, this is all he said:
“Good morning every day, it’s a great day, it’s a beautiful day. I thank you for being here. I appreciate it.”
And with that, it was back to his motorcade. If you blinked you may have missed it. So why make the trip at all? There is only one explanation and here it is.
FOX NEWS ALERT: Trump, Pence lay wreath at MLK Memorial pic.twitter.com/t23R0aVUol
— America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) January 21, 2019
To Fox News viewers it appeared Trump made a poignant stop at the memorial. It even said he laid a wreath. He didn’t. The wreath was there. He merely touched it for a few seconds. Huffington Post writes:
Trump faced scrutiny last year when he did not attend a public event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Instead, he visited one of his golf clubs in Florida. He remained in Washington on Monday as the ongoing partial government shutdown entered its 31st day.
Trump’s quick trip to the memorial on Monday offered a stark contrast with past presidents, such as Barack Obama and George W. Bush, who spent MLK Day volunteering or visiting memorials in the civil rights icon’s honor during their presidencies.
It makes @realDonaldTrump look WEAK to be dragged to the MLK event against his will. At least he was accompanied by noted black leader…oh wait…Mike Pence? SAD! https://t.co/W15jNzmT3n
— Crooks and Liars (@crooksandliars) January 21, 2019
So @realDonaldTrump has hours of “executive time” each day but only has two minutes to remember the life and legacy of Dr. King? https://t.co/NMpMjnY6PG
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevinCA) January 21, 2019
You are an ardent racist. You showed up at the MLK Memorial for a photo-op and nothing else. You spent only two minutes at the memorial and you made no statement about MLK. Enough said. #MLK #MLKDay
— Dr. Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) January 21, 2019