White House tweets about Martin Luther King Jr. aren't going over well
Sarah Huckabee Sanders' tweet honoring Martin Luther King Jr. is not going over well.
In a tweet, the White House press secretary wrote that King "gave his life" for the civil rights movement, and that "our country is better thanks to his inspiration and sacrifice."
Today we honor a great American who gave his life to right the wrong of racial inequality. Our country is better thanks to his inspiration and sacrifice #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/wWYdNWtGuy
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 21, 2019
Here's the thing: King didn't give his life. He was assassinated four years after he was blackmailed by the FBI; his family still believes his death was a government-orchestrated conspiracy to silence the civil rights movement.
SEE ALSO: 7 ways to meaningfully honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Which is why, considering the Trump administration's history of not condemning white nationalist rallies, Twitter users found Sanders' post so disrespectful.
he was murdered Sarah
— Brandy Jensen (@BrandyLJensen) January 21, 2019
He was assassinated by a racist and if he were alive today you would have "both sided" him but sure. https://t.co/VYBD31u9ao
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) January 21, 2019
He was killed. He was killed by the same type of people who continue to support Trump and attend his rallies with confederate flags and racist slogans. MLK Jr. didn’t give his life, his life was stolen. Shame on you for trying to spin that fact.
— Sarah Wood (@sarahwoodwriter) January 21, 2019
Dr. Martin Luther King was killed. He did not give his life. He was murdered.
— Kimberly | Kim (@KimberlyetCie) January 21, 2019
He didn't give his life. It was taken. https://t.co/vWsgIaUyTl
— Tiffany Cross (@TiffanyDCross) January 21, 2019
Americans also found Trump's post honoring King particularly ironic.
I can't believe what you say, because I see what you do.
- James Baldwin pic.twitter.com/yd5RPM2end— Alexander McCoy (@AlexanderMcCoy4) January 21, 2019
In addition to tweeting, Trump also remembered King by visiting his memorial "for about two minutes," according to the Huffington Post.
King's son, Martin Luther King III, also condemned Vice President Mike Pence for quoting his father's famous "I have a dream" speech while talking about the border wall.
"The vice president attempted to compare the president to Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a bridge builder, not a wall builder," the younger King said.
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