Rev. Al Sharpton said President Trump’s brief speech Saturday at the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Miss., was a “missed opportunity” to talk about issues of race relations and instead served as a cover for Trump to “diffuse” anger in nearby Alabama over Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.
At the event, Trump honored civil rights leaders, spoke of the desire for children to grow up “free from fear,” and declared the nation will devote itself to honoring the legacies of those who fought for equality.
Sharpton, responding to the speech in a panel on MSNBC, said Trump failed to address “the issues of today” that impact African-Americans. He listed off a number of issues, including voting rights, healthcare, and police reform, and expressed his disappointment that those in attendance at the event didn’t confront Trump for not bringing up policy. Sharpton said if he was in the room, he would have confronted Trump, but when asked if he had hoped Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who boycotted the event, had been there to ask questions, Sharpton indicated that he respected their decisions.
After dredging up Trump’s controversial “both sides” comment in response to the violent white supremacy protests in Charlottesville, Va., in August, Sharpton turned to Alabama, which has a special election next week.
“I think this was all about him trying to diffuse a lot of the anger in Alabama a few miles away and they will come out and vote against his candidate Roy Moore who just talked about slavery in terms that were almost endearing,” Sharpton said. Sharpton appeared to be referring to reports of Moore responding to question from an African American audience member at a September rally, saying that the last time America was “great” when “families were united — even though we had slavery — they cared for one another…. Our families were strong, our country had a direction.”
Talking about #Trump's attendance at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museun Opening. #MSNBCLive pic.twitter.com/1xB4HSoR6h— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) December 9, 2017
Trump also held a rally on the other side of Alabama Friday night, in Pensacola, Fla, about 20 miles away from the Alabama border, where he told supporters“we can’t afford” a Moore loss.
Sharpton also suggested that Trump was trying to tamp down concerns about “his own racism” and said the president’s speech resulted from “political calculus.”
Moore, a longtime judge in Alabama, is also facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with teenagers — charges he denies.
He faces off against Democrat Doug Jones in the special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
