When news broke this week that the Reverend Jesse Jackson had died aged 84, tributes flooded in from right across the political spectrum. The veteran civil rights leader passed away surrounded by family, according to his relatives. Messages online remembered decades of activism and political influence. President Donald Trump also weighed in, but what began as a conventional statement of praise and dedication quickly descended into something far more combative. In true Trump fashion, the tribute didn’t remain a tribute for long… The target of his ire this time? Former POTUS Barack Obama. (Picture: AP/Brian Tyler Cohen).
Trump described Jackson as a ‘good man’ with plenty of ‘street smarts’, acknowledging the scale of his impact. But he soon changed angle. ‘Despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a Racist by the Scoundrels and Lunatics on the Radical Left, Democrats ALL, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. (Picture: Jeffrey Asher/Getty Images)
The president then went on to detail what he described as years of personal support that he offered up to Rev. Jackson and his various political and social causes. Trump claimed he provided office space for Jackson’s social justice non-profit inside the Trump Building in Manhattan. He also said the criminal justice reform passed during his first administration was, in part, done as a favour to the two-time Democratic presidential candidate. (Picture: Bettmann Archive)
Then came the line that’s raised a few eyebrows: ‘Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him,’ Trump continued, before turning squarely on a long-standing rival. ‘He had much to do with the Election, without acknowledgment or credit, of Barack Hussein Obama, a man who Jesse could not stand.’ (Picture: ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)
The remark about Jackson not being enamoured with Obama appears to be a reference to a ‘hot mic’ incident from back in 2008 when Jackson was overheard criticising Obama for ‘talking down’ to black Americans and adding, ‘I want to cut his nuts off.’ Jackson later apologised and maintained his support for Obama throughout his presidency. Trump’s latest dig also arrives weeks after he shared an AI-generated clip portraying Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes, drawing fierce criticism. (Picture: Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images)
Jesse Jackson cemented his place in American history many decades ago. Born in 1941 in the Jim Crow South (specifically in Greenville, South Carolina), he rose to prominence during the US civil rights movement. He was actually with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when Dr. King was assassinated. Jackson later said King died in his arms, a moment which he says defined the direction of his life’s work. (Picture: Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images)
In 1984, Jackson founded the Rainbow Coalition to fight for equal rights for African Americans, women and gay people, while also backing housing, social services and voter registration efforts. The organisation later merged with Operation PUSH in 1996 to form the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Jackson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. Trump, despite his wayward mid-tribute Obama rant, did end his statement on a slightly softer, kinder note. Ending his message with this comment about the reverend, the president said: ‘He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed!’ (Picture: The Chronicle Collection/Getty Images)
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