Today, in what's becoming an annual Martin Luther King Day tradition, Fox & Friends brought out King's niece, Fox News contributor and Donald Trump supporter Alveda King to whitewash MLK's message as one of sweetness and light rather than social justice activism. On this morning's Fox & Friends, she did not disappoint.
While Ms. King presents as kind and gentle, her saccharine Fox homilies have included attacks on President Barack Obama, Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Maxine Waters. She has also used her Fox platform to promote a right-wing agenda, such as when she spoke out against same sex marriage and promoted anti-choice talking points. She has actively supported GOP conservatives, such as Herman Cain, and appeared at Glenn Beck's 2010 Rally. But as an African-American, with ties to MLK, she is perfect for Fox News in that they can use her to dismiss accusations that Fox is racist.
This morning's Fox & Friends started with cohost Ainsley Earhardt's comment that, just four days before Trump's inauguration, the country is very divided. She asked how, on MLK's birthday, we can "bridge the divide." She introduced "the perfect guest for this segment," Alveda King who, as Earhadt noted, is the niece of Dr. King and the Director of African-American outreach for Priests for Life, a radical Catholic anti-choice organization.
King began by promoting her new book, "America, Return to God," which, according to King, is about the need to pray, "rather than all of the controversy." She continued: "We can pray and join the incoming president, our new president, Mr. Donald Trump, who is inviting leaders across America and all of the people to join in making our nation better." She worked in the MLK reference: "So if we can pray and do what Uncle ML, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, learn to live together as brothers...we can do this, we can do it together."
In what might have been an attempt to get King to bash civil rights hero, Rep. John Lewis, who stated that he does not believe in the legitimacy of the Trump presidency, Earhardt asked King what she thought of Lewis' comments. King heaped gushing praise on Lewis' "legacy of civil rights and working with my uncle ML" and, as such, Lewis should stay "on that track of non-violent conflict resolution" and "help America," by "working with the president." She encouraged Lewis to help "fix Atlanta."
Ms. King also preached about "one blood of the Bible" and Jesus "encouraging us to be brothers and sisters and not adversarial." She acknowledged that she supported Trump and his (ahem) desire to "roll up our sleeves together." She urged those who are "fearful and tearful" to "pray together" because that's what her uncle and grandfather "would do today." King described today's importance as being about how people of all colors and faiths can come together so we can be healed and she proclaimed that if MLK "were here today, he'd be cheering America on, praying with America."
In listening to Alveda King's sugar-coated platitudes, I expected to hear that famous Coca-Cola commercial about teaching the world to sing in perfect harmony! Last year, King dismissed concerns about police brutality in the inner cities. This year, she ignored Donald Trump's insulting and divisive tweets about Lewis and his Atlanta district which, contrary to Trump, is not a ghetto hellscape. As usual, Alveda King did not mention that her uncle worked tirelessly against bigotry and social injustice, utilizing not just prayers, but sit-ins, boycotts and protest marches.
No, if MLK, Jr. were alive, he would not just be praying. Once again, welcome to the alternate world of Fox News.
Watch the whitewash on today's Fox & Friends.
Of course, I completely reject her rationale. I firmly believe that the esteemed Dr King would be praying that America would survive the next four years of the
The esteemed Dr King would never willingly accept the idea of someone like Pig Sessions as Attorney General (and the rest of Chump’s Cabinet picks would never get any support from the esteemed Dr King; he’d probably have choked on his dinner after hearing that the utterly unqualified Ben Carson was even being considered for a Cabinet post—I could imagine Carson getting some support as Surgeon-General, but not much else). MLK would’ve demanded a chance to appear at the hearings on Sessions’ nomination to denounce, in the strongest terms, a man so eminently unqualified to serve as the country’s highest law enforcement official. And he would’ve raised holy hell if denied the chance.
I also like to think MLK would be out there publicly rebuking Alveda at every turn. (Then again, if MLK were still alive, Alveda would be a nobody since she doesn’t seem to have any real job in the real world beyond being FoxNoise and the right-wing’s favorite “mammy” figure.)
