The son of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday criticized Vice President Mike Pence for citing civil rights leader to make the case for a wall along the US-Mexico border.
Pence had told CBS’s Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation,” in a discussion about the government shutdown which was sparked by a dispute about the border wall that: “One of my favorite quotes from Dr. King was ‘now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.’ You think of how he changed America,” Pence continued. “He inspired us to change through the legislative process to become a more perfect union. That’s exactly what President Trump is calling on the Congress to do: Come to the table in a spirit of good faith. We’ll secure our border, we’ll reopen our government.”
Speaking at a breakfast in Washington hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III reacted to the Vice-president’s remarks.
“Whenever I get to this period, it always is reflective. This year is probably more reflective than ever because I wonder what my father would be thinking and (asking), especially since we have an administration and administrators — and Rev. said the vice president, I forget exactly what you said, Rev. — but the vice president attempted to compare the President to Martin Luther King Jr.,” King said.
“Now, Martin Luther King Jr. was a bridge builder, not a wall builder. Martin Luther King Jr. would say love not hate would make America great. Did you all hear that? Love not hate would make America great. See, we hadn’t achieved, we’ve had spurts of greatness,” he added.
On Monday, Pence and President Donald Trump made an unannounced visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the National Mall in recognition of the holiday honoring the late civil rights leader.