President Trump famously kicked off Black History Month by trashing Arnold Schwarzenegger for his Apprentice ratings during a commemorative Feb. 1 breakfast. His checkered history with “the blacks” goes back decades to when Trump refused to rent apartments to minorities in the 1970s. So, it’s no surprise to learn that he may not have been prepared for what he would see at D.C.’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Trump made the trek on Wednesday with a group that included Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She recently defended Trump while speaking with Bill O’Reilly and used the “fake news” label to explain why some people might think Trump is racist. King also spoke with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to vouch for how Trump was affected during the tour:
Alveda King noticed two moments on Tuesday when President Donald Trump seemed visibly moved during his tour … the first came when his gaze fell on a stone auction block from Hagerstown, Md., on which slaves would stand before being sold. King, part of a small delegation to tour the new Smithsonian with the president, overheard Trump say: “Boy, that is just not good. That is not good.”
Later, they came upon a set of shackles that were used to restrain children. “That is really bad,” King quoted the president as saying. “That is really bad.”
No one will ever accuse Trump of being eloquent, but perhaps he learned a thing or two? Maybe — just maybe — he’ll realize that it wasn’t such a hot idea to ask black voters, “What do you have to lose?” Or to instruct an entire rally to “look at my African-American.” Well, perhaps.