Trump's Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony was extremely awkward

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/CBS)

President Trump on Friday held a commemorative ceremony for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., ahead of the federal holiday Monday in honor of the groundbreaking civil rights pioneer. But what should have been a routine celebration of one of America's most vaunted historical figures quickly turned awkward, given the president, not 24 hours earlier, had reportedly insulted a swath of African nations — and maybe Haiti too — as "shithole countries."

Before signing a proclamation for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Trump praised King for his work. "Today we celebrate Dr. King for standing up for the self-evident truth Americans hold so dear: that no matter what the color of our skin, or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by God," Trump said.

See more

The president then exited the commemoration of a leading equal-rights advocate to shouted questions from reporters, including an inquiry from Urban Radio Networks' April Ryan as to whether or not he is "a racist." Watch the excruciating irony below. Kimberly Alters

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
See more
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.