Martin Luther King Jr’s youngest daughter, Bernice King, says it’s “wonderful” that Donald Trump’s inauguration was held on the day celebrating her father.
The MLK federal holiday is celebrated on the third Monday in January each year, close to his birthday which is Jan. 15.
Trump was sworn in as the 47th president at his second inauguration in Washington, D.C. on Monday, Jan. 20.
“It’s wonderful that this occurs on the King holiday, the inauguration, because it reminds us of King,” Bernice King said on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” on Saturday.
Bernice, who was born in Atlanta, was just 5 years old when her father was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Bernice is the youngest of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King’s four children. She is pictured with her mother at her father’s funeral in Atlanta.
Despite the racially charged controversy surrounding Trump, Bernice said his inauguration coinciding with her father’s holiday “points us back to King.”
“It says, ‘When we move forward, we’ve got to do it in the spirit of King,'” she said.
Bernice and her brother, Martin Luther King III, have been outspoken critics of Trump since his first presidential bid.
Trump’s inauguration was attended by former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez were among the Democrats who did not attend the inauguration ceremonies.
