Yuri Gripas/Reuters
President Trump has no public events scheduled Monday to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Three days ago, he signed a proclamation for the federal holiday in which he encouraged “all Americans to recommit themselves to Dr. King’s dream by engaging in acts of service to others, to their community, and to our Nation.” It’s not clear if Trump plans to do so himself; the public schedule issued by the White House does not necessarily include all events. Last year on MLK Day, Trump went golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence appeared to compare Trump to the slain civil rights leader while discussing the border-wall impasse and government shutdown on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. “One of my favorite quotes from Dr. King was, ‘Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy,’” Pence said. “You think of how he changed America. He inspired us to change through the legislative process, to become a more perfect union...That’s exactly what President Trump is calling on Congress to do: Come to the table in the spirit of good faith. We’ll secure our border. We’ll reopen the government and we’ll move our nation forward as the president said yesterday to even a broader discussion about immigration reform in the months ahead.”