Trump pays visit to Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on national holiday to honor his legacy

President Donald Trump made a surprise trip to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on Monday to honor the civil rights leader.

READ MORE: Concerns of public safety prompt cancellation of annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day vigil

Hours before Trump flew to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Summit, he joined Vice President Mike Pence at the National Mall to visit King’s monument. The White House shared a video of Trump’s visit to his Twitter page.

#MLKDay pic.twitter.com/ZCrkxtlQjb

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 21, 2020

Kellyanne Conway, who serves as counselor to Trump, debriefed reporters on the visit and said that Trump “agrees with many of the things that Dr. Martin Luther King stood for and agreed with for many years, including unity and equality,” reported CNN.

Conway also brought up Trump’s impeachment proceedings and implied that King would not be happy.

“When you see the articles of impeachment that came out, I don’t think it was within Dr. King’s vision to have Americans dragged through a process where the President is not going to be removed from office, is not being charged with bribery, extortion, high crimes or misdemeanors,” Conway said, according to CNN. “And I think that anybody who cares about ‘and justice for all’ — today or any day of the year — will appreciate the fact that the President now will have a full-throttle defense on the facts. And everybody should have that.”

Trump took to Twitter to point out that the King holiday falls on Jan. 20, the same day he took office three years ago.

“It was exactly three years ago today, January 20, 2017, that I was sworn into office. So appropriate that today is also MLK jr DAY. African-American Unemployment is the LOWEST in the history of our Country, by far. Also, best Poverty, Youth, and Employment numbers, ever. Great!” Trump tweeted.

It was exactly three years ago today, January 20, 2017, that I was sworn into office. So appropriate that today is also MLK jr DAY. African-American Unemployment is the LOWEST in the history of our Country, by far. Also, best Poverty, Youth, and Employment numbers, ever. Great!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2020

Somehow the president was able to salute Dr. King and big up himself, somehow connecting himself with “The Dreamers” regal legacy. Twitter was not letting that slip by without a quick reminder of far a distance 45’s commitment to justice and King’s legacy is from one another.

hey remember when you and your Klansman father were fined by the federal government in 1973 for refusing to rent any of your crappy apartments to black people? good times, right? now what were you saying about Martin Luther King my dude

— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) January 20, 2020

Traditionally, U.S. presidents spend the King holiday with their sleeves rolled up, taking part in service projects to commemorate the “day of service.” No service projects are on Trump’s calendar, according to CNN. U.S. presidents have typically observed the holiday publicly, making remarks or attending events honoring the day.

While not doing any of those things, Trump continued his own tradition. This is not his first MLK Day at the memorial, he visited it last year also.

Meanwhile, Black Twitter had plenty to say about a tweet from the FBI honoring King.

Today, the FBI honors the life and work of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A quote from Dr. King is etched in stone at the FBI Academy’s reflection garden in Quantico as a reminder to all students and FBI employees: “The time is always right to do what is right.” #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/UKMLAAZw5w

— FBI (@FBI) January 20, 2020

“Today, the FBI honors the life and work of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A quote from Dr. King is etched in stone at the FBI Academy’s reflection garden in Quantico as a reminder to all students and FBI employees: “The time is always right to do what is right,” the FBI tweet reads. It ends with the hashtag #MLKDay.

READ MORE: Marc Lamont Hill slams Trump surrogate as ‘mediocre Negro’

“Oh really?” pondered clap-back king and Temple University Professor Marc Lamont Hill.

“Your headquarters is named after J. Edgar Hoover, who used all of his resources to not only destroy King’s reputation, but to get him to kill himself. If you want to “do what is right,” you should denounce Hoover’s attacks on The Black Freedom Movement and rename the building,” Hill tweeted in response.

Your headquarters is named after J. Edgar Hoover, who used all of his resources to not only destroy King’s reputation, but to get him to kill himself. If you want to “do what is right,” you should denounce Hoover’s attacks on The Black Freedom Movement and rename the building. https://t.co/Buxsq4nQne

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) January 20, 2020

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Disgraced Drexel professor reportedly stole $185,000 in grant money for strippers

A former Drexel University professor has been charged with stealing $185,000 in grant money and making it rain at area strip clubs.

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said in a public statement that Chikaodinaka Nwankpa, 57, is currently facing two felonies, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception. It is alleged that the professor stole research grant money and used it for purchases at adult clubs, restaurants, iTunes and other places. Many of the alleged purchases occurred between midnight and 2 a.m., the district attorney’s office said.

The Philadelphia District Attorney further detailed that Nwankpa spent over $96,000 on local Philadelphia strip clubs and sports bars and $89,000 on food and iTunes purchases.

READ MORE: University of Kansas apologizes for Snoop Dogg’s stripper-pole performance

“Mr. Nwankpa inappropriately and criminally diverted tens of thousands of dollars that were allocated for research purposes toward his own private enjoyment. He betrayed Drexel University and tuition-paying students he was paid to educate,” District Attorney Larry Krasner told CNN.

The purchases were made over a seven-year timeframe, from 2010 to 2017, and were discovered during an audit. The district attorney’s office noted that Nwankpa told officials that the strip club expenses were to cover food catering.

Niki Gianakaris, a Drexel spokeswoman, told CNN: “Drexel takes allegations of unethical or unlawful business conduct on the part of any members of the University community very seriously. The University initially reported this situation to the US Attorney’s Office and has worked cooperatively with federal and state investigations into the matter.”

Nwankpa, who formerly headed up Drexel’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, was placed on administrative leave once the purchases were discovered. He later resigned.

READ MORE: Black student calls out white professor who used the n-word in class as an ‘experiment’

According to CNN, Drexel University had previously paid $190,000 in a settlement from another federal investigation into Nwankpa’s alleged misuse of grant funds. In that matter, Nwankpa repaid $53,328 to Drexel.

After Nwankpa was arrested by university police, he was released on a $25,000 bail. He also turned in his passport and is due back in court on January 29 for a preliminary hearing.

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