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Trump meets with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest son for holiday

 
Published Jan. 17, 2017

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump met Monday with the eldest son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the holiday devoted to the civil rights icon, moving to reach out to members of the African-American community who have been alarmed by his rhetoric and policy positions as he prepares to take office.

The hastily arranged session came as tensions escalated between the incoming president and a number of prominent black elected officials after Trump feuded publicly with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who fought for civil rights alongside King.

It also highlighted the challenges Trump faces as an incoming president deeply distrusted by minorities across the country, many of whom have been offended by his false allegations that President Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States, appalled that his candidacy drew backing from white supremacist organizations and dismayed at policy proposals they consider antithetical to their interests.

Trump on Monday did not address those issues, ignoring questions shouted by reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower after emerging with Martin Luther King III from a meeting that lasted nearly an hour. But the president-elect made sure news cameras captured him shaking hands with the civil rights leader, a visual manifestation of his stated aspiration to unite a divided nation.

King said the session, which touched on voting rights, had been "constructive," and described Trump as eager to present himself as inclusive.

"He said that he is going to represent Americans — he's said that over and over again," King told reporters. "We will continue to evaluate that."

But other black leaders said Trump's relationship with the black community — tense, bordering on toxic, after a strident campaign that instilled fear, and a transition that has done little to allay their concerns — would not improve unless the president-elect altered both his tone and his policy positions.

"There's a lot of anxiety, there's a lot of distrust, there are people who have expressed to me that they're scared of what his policies might entail," said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League.