Donald Trump doesn't acknowledge Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

[Uncle Joe]

President Donald Trump has not recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day through official statements, proclamation or activity. It is a departure from his first term and his predecessors.

In a break from past presidential traditions, including his own first term, President Donald Trump has not recognized Jan. 19 2026 as Martin Luther King Jr. Day through any official statement, proclamation or activity.

The federal holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader's work against end segregation and racismfalls on the third Monday of January.

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Trump's only social media post the morning of Jan. 19 called for voter ID requirements, a measure opposed by civil rights groups because racial minorities are more likely to lack state-issued identification. The White House social media accounts posted about ICE and Trump's accomplishments in his first year in office after being contacted by USA TODAY.

Congress created the Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and only it can stop its official observance. President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill into law on Nov. 2, 1983, thus designating the third Monday in January a federal holiday in observance of the civil rights leader.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/19/donald-trump-doesnt-acknowledge-martin-luther-king-jr-day/88252240007/

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If anyone hasn't listened to MLK's "Beyond Vietnam" speech, with just name and date changes it would be a natural campaign speech for the here and now. It's spot on as to the same cyclical patterns and what we're facing today.

Today is the federal holiday that honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was born January 15, 1929. He was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just 39 years old. While Dr. King is primarily remembered as a civil rights leader, he also championed the cause of the poor and organized the Poor People’s Campaign to address issues of economic justice. Dr. King was also a fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy and the Vietnam War. We play his “Beyond Vietnam” speech, which he delivered at New York City’s Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, as well as his last speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” that he gave on April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated.