Trump And Martin Luther King, Jr.

Kicking Off America's Golden Age: Trump To Give "I Have A Dream" Type Speech

The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in April 1968. It was fitting that a Republican president, Ronald Reagan, should be the one to sign into law the holiday since the GOP was created for the express purpose of freeing the slaves, and the first GOP president, Abraham Lincoln, freed the slaves. Over fervent Democrat opposition, the Republican Party then fought for the next 100 years to grant African Americans their civil rights. Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, twenty years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched on the mall in Washington DC and delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech. The new holiday was first observed three years later on January 20, 1986. Donald J. Trump is the second president to be sworn in on MLK, Jr. Day.^

It is only fitting that Donald J. Trump, a Republican, should be sworn in on the day Americans honor another Republican, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. I won’t go so far as to compare Trump to Lincoln, but he certainly did far more for blacks than any other president since the GOP’s Richard Nixon established Affirmative Action in 1974. Let’s look at how Trump 45 improved employment and education opportunities for black Americans.

BLACK AMERICANS THRIVED UNDER TRUMP 45: HIGH EMPLOYMENT, LOW POVERTY

Less than two years into his first term, Trump could boast of 7.1 Million new jobs added to the economy, with 1.3 Million going to black Americans.

NOTE: Black Americans make up only 13.4% of America’s population, yet they obtained 18.3% of “Trump’s jobs.”

During the first year of the Obama Administration (2009) black unemployment shot up from 10% to 15%, and it kept rising. In 2010 & 2011 it was above 16%. Black unemployment was continuously below 7% for two straight years during Trump 45, an all time record. Just before the Covid lockdowns, it was 5.5%. Black unemployment was 6.4% in November, 2024.

President Obama kept black poverty at well above 20% for seven years (above 24% in 2010-2011 — EEEEEEK!), dropping it to 19% in his last year in office (2016) to help Biden’s campaign. Under the Trump 45 economy, wages rose and continued rising for three years. The poverty rate for black Americans was the lowest in history, with 350,000 fewer blacks living in poverty. Indeed, in just Trump’s first year in office, the black poverty rate fell from 19% to 18.2%, then to 17.7% in 2018, then to 16.3% in 2019.

President Trump made supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) a top priority. Within weeks of taking office, he announced the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs. Trump 45 promoted & signed legislation to increase federal funding for HBCUs by 13%. Trump took a big step to end discriminatory restrictions which prevented faith based HBCUs from accessing federal support, and worked with HBCUs to expand apprenticeship opportunities, career choices, and to ensure they are receiving adequate support.

WHAT WILL TRUMP’S “DREAM” SPEECH ON MONDAY SOUND LIKE?

^Since the holiday was officially designated in 1983, only one president was sworn in on Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Bill Clinton. For his second term, Clinton's Inauguration took place on Jan. 20, 1997.