Martin Luther King Jr’s Son Slams Mike Pence For His Comparison Of His Father To Donald Trump

Martin Luther King Jr.’s son has just spoken out over Vice President Mike Pence’s comparison of his father to Donald Trump, suggesting that Martin Luther King Jr. had nothing in common with the president.

As the Hill reports, King’s son stated that his father spent his whole life building bridges rather than walls.

“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.”

According to CNN, many people were shocked when Mike Pence brought up the famous civil rights activist — around the time of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday — when he spoke on CBS’ Face the Nation. Pence borrowed a line from King’s revered “I Have A Dream” speech to suggest that his words echoed Donald Trump’s thoughts about building a border wall, and the president’s idea of bringing political parties together today to achieve this feat.

“The hearts and minds of the American people today are thinking a lot about it being the weekend we are remembering the life and the work of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 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, he inspired us to change through the legislative process to become a more perfect union.”

MLK's son hits Pence for comparing Trump to his father: He "was a bridge builder, not a wall builder" https://t.co/9nJIFjK3zC pic.twitter.com/4hVyl5JGfk

— The Hill (@thehill) January 21, 2019

Mike Pence then went on to say, “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 the government, and we’ll move our nation forward as the president said yesterday to even a broader discussion about immigration reform in the months ahead.”

However, it is well known that Martin Luther King Jr. was no fan of walls, per Complex. When visiting East and West Berlin in 1964, he addressed the 20,000 people that were assembled to hear him — and spoke out against the wall that then separated Germany.

Donald Trump is currently demanding $5 billion to build a border wall, which he says would put an end to the partial federal government shutdown. However, Democrats have outright rejected the president’s plans for a wall, and called it a “non-starter” in no uncertain terms, leaving many to wonder if the partial government shutdown will ever end. Monday marks the 30th day of the shutdown, as neither side appears willing to compromise.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s son’s final words — after dismissing Mike Pence’s comparison of his father with Donald Trump — were, “Martin Luther King Jr. would say, ‘Love, not hate, will make America great.'”