It was bad enough that we had to see Donald Trump prevail.
Then we had to watch helplessly as Vice President Kamala Harris, the opponent he defeated, had to certify his victory.
Now, we have to endure the indignity of witnessing Trump sworn in — again — as president of the United States on the same day the nation celebrates the Martin Luther King holiday.
Surely, there are some words of comfort and direction from King to help us through these troubling times.
“We’ve got some difficult days ahead,” King said in his last public speech. “But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life — longevity has its place.But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land.”
The message here is, don’t despair.
But it appears that the days ahead are a little too difficult for many, including Michelle Obama.
The former first lady announced that she would not be attending Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
Another scheduling conflict? Not this time.
“There’s no overstating her feelings about [Trump]. She’s not one to plaster on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol’s sake,” an Obama insider told People magazine. “Michelle doesn’t do anything because it’s expected or it’s protocol or it’s tradition.”
Days earlier, she missed former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, where she would have been seated next to Trump.
Her husband, former President Barack Obama, is expected to attend the inauguration.
The backlash from Trump supporters has been swift. They seem to have forgotten that their guy blew off President Biden’s inauguration in 2021— after trying to overthrow the government.
But Trump was elected fair and square this time, and showing up at the inauguration is more about honoring America than it is about saluting Trump.
Country music singer Carrie Underwood was forced to admit as much when she responded to critics who blasted her for accepting an invitation to perform “America the Beautiful” at the event.
“I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event,” Underwood said in a statement. “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
Among Underwood’s defenders is talk show host and actress Whoopi Goldberg, whom no one would mistake for a Trump fan.
“If I believe I have the right to make up my mind to go perform some place, I believe [she has] the same right. I have to support,” Goldberg said on her show “The View.” “It doesn’t mean I’m particularly interested. I won’t be watching, but that’s just me.”
The last time Inauguration Day fell on the King holiday was in 2013. Barack Obama took the oath of office for the second time, and was sworn in on a worn leather Bible once owned by King himself.
Trump probably won’t be doing that.
But watching or attending the inauguration this time around doesn’t mean you are turning your back on King or the Black race.
“We need to decipher that speech so we know where our battle lines are and what our struggles will be,” the Rev. William Barber II, a prominent civil rights leader, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Barber will deliver the keynote address at the annual King Day service at Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.
“We don’t need to turn away,” Barber said. “Dr. King didn’t turn away from struggle. He turned toward it.”
