A Masquerade For Historical Grave Robbing

The short-fingered vulgarian is at it once more, bumbling by means of the primary weeks of his presidential rerun like a bloated, spray-tanned ghoul with an unquenchable thirst for consideration.

This time, he’s partaking in his favourite pastime—political grave robbing.

If there’s a long-dead historic determine with a righteous legacy price looting, Trump’s there with a gold-plated Dwelling Depot shovel in hand, digging by means of the grime like a necrophiliac in a sweat-stained MAGA hat reeking of desperation and quick meals grease. His newest séance-gone-wrong drags in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Apparently, haunting us together with his personal chaos and “covfefe” isn’t sufficient. Why cease at corrupting the current when you possibly can desecrate historical past too?

Final week, in what he doubtless considers a historic second of transparency (or not less than an honest distraction), Trump introduced that he’ll declassify any remaining recordsdata associated to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Trump is exploiting MLK’s legacy whereas undermining it.

Flanked by aides who appear to have already mastered the artwork of trying enthusiastic about his nonsense, Trump signed an govt order for the discharge of those data on the White Home on Jan. 23. After an aide dutifully learn out the formal decree, Trump, by no means one to overlook a possibility for self-congratulation, smirked and declared, “That’s an enormous one, huh? Lots of people are ready for this for a protracted—for years, for many years.”

Ah sure y’all, the eloquence of this statesman is unparalleled! Few issues convey deep historic understanding fairly like mangling a primary remark about time. Lengthy—for years, for many years—really a masterclass in precision. Subsequent, he’ll be explaining that water is moist, that centuries are only a bunch of a long time stacked collectively, or that Lincoln’s been lifeless for, like, a extremely, actually very long time—many individuals are saying.

Take a deep existential sigh with me, Y’all.

The necessary factor is that he made it sound like he was personally revealing a long-buried nationwide treasure, slightly than simply belatedly unsealing paperwork that ought to have been made public ages in the past.

After all, this “massive one” comes with a slight hitch.

Trump’s order duties the yet-to-be-confirmed director of nationwide intelligence and legal professional basic with devising a plan to launch the JFK recordsdata inside 15 days, adopted by one other 45 days to determine how you can deal with the RFK and MLK paperwork. Which implies, very similar to all the pieces else he touches, this grand reveal is already tangled in pink tape and procedural purgatory.

You is perhaps asking, why has he signed this govt order?

He’s turning reputable skepticism about authorities secrecy into gas for his personal vendetta.

Might it’s a deep dedication to historic transparency? How ‘bout a burning ardour for fact and justice? Perhaps a sudden and uncharacteristic respect for historical past? Maybe a newfound reverence for preserving the previous with the dignity and seriousness it deserves? Has he, in some late-night epiphany between Food plan Cokes and rage-posting, determined to take up the noble explanation for full disclosure?

Or—hear me out now—has the person who thought Frederick Douglas was nonetheless out in these streets “doing nice issues” regardless of being lifeless for over a century been quietly shedding sleep over the assassination of a legendary civil rights chief? Has the birther-in-chief who falsely claimed that his Jan. 6 revolt crowd was greater than the 1963 March on Washington been overcome with grief for Dr. King in a approach that completely isn’t at odds together with his lengthy and storied historical past of racism?

Or, is that this simply one other try and personal the “libs” by pretending he’s the only keeper of long-buried secrets and techniques? Did any person on Fact Social point out the Deep State and now he thinks he can toss conspiracy theorists some recent meat to gnaw on whereas he pretends to show the true killers? Or is it simply the standard Trumpian impulse the place he randomly indicators issues so he can watch individuals clap for him?

The Martin Luther King Memorial has few guests on Martin Luther King Day, which additionally was the day of the inauguration of President Trump, on January 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Supply: Andrew Lichtenstein / Getty

Every of those questions are rhetorical, after all, as a result of we already know the reply. His motivations are as suspect as a Trump College diploma. His choice to declassify the MLK assassination data, alongside these of JFK and RFK, isn’t about fact, justice, or any newfound respect for historical past. It’s about spectacle. It’s about Trump doing what Trump does finest: grabbing headlines, fueling conspiracy fires and basking within the consideration like a sunbaked Cheeto on a Mar-a-Lago lounge chair.

Trump has zero curiosity in civil rights justice. Anticipating him to care about civil rights is like anticipating him to learn a e-book with out photos. So, what’s this actually about moreover inflating his ego, giving conspiracy weirdos one thing new to drool over and cosplaying as a fact warrior?

Don’t get it twisted, his newest transfer is a part of his broader anti-government secrecy and transparency narrative alongside together with his tendency to use historic conspiracies for political achieve.

He has framed this as an effort to reverse the over-classification of presidency paperwork and restore public belief. Since JFK’s assassination has lengthy been tangled in authorities secrecy, deep state paranoia a few huge authorities cover-up and distrust of intelligence businesses, Trump sees a possibility to weaponize these narratives to discredit authorities establishments, particularly the DOJ, FBI, CIA, which have investigated him. He’s turning reputable skepticism about authorities secrecy into gas for his personal vendetta. On the finish of the day, stoking anti-government paranoia isn’t only a tactic, it’s a cornerstone of his authoritarian ambitions. And let’s not neglect, he didn’t simply trace at his intentions, he outright stated he plans to rule America like a dictator on day one.

By tossing within the MLK assassination recordsdata into the combination, he will get to place himself as an anti-establishment truth-teller, whereas concurrently pushing insurance policies straight out of the Challenge 2025 playbook that undermine racial justice whereas gutting DEI initiatives, attacking Black Lives Matter and stoking white nationalist grievances.

In his first week again in workplace, Trump has aggressively dismantled DEI initiatives throughout the federal authorities. He issued govt orders terminating all DEI-related mandates established beneath earlier administrations, inserting federal DEI employees on paid go away with plans for eventual layoffs and rescinding insurance policies that promoted affirmative motion. These actions have led to the elimination of DEI sources from federal web sites and a directive for federal staff to report any colleagues trying to proceed DEI efforts, with threats of adversarial penalties for non-compliance. Trump has additionally mandated the elimination of Black Lives Matter flag from federal areas, additional signaling a rollback of civil rights protections.

Utilizing MLK’s legacy as a pawn in a political sport is likely one of the most cynical, sinister and insulting strikes possible.

So, let’s get this straight—Trump is out right here gutting DEI, placing variety employees on ice, scrubbing federal areas of something remotely pro-Black. He’s selling the erasure of Black historical past by means of insurance policies that ban the educating of systemic racism in colleges and is mainly turning civil rights protections right into a piñata at a CPAC rally. However certain, let’s faux he’s instantly overcome with righteous curiosity about what actually occurred to MLK and a burning want to show fact. Perhaps subsequent, he’ll champion voting rights, begin quoting James Baldwin and host a Juneteenth cookout at Mar-a-Lago.

What we’re witnessing is a calculated, sinister PR transfer, which permits him to look as a populist revealer of secrets and techniques for the advantage of “the individuals” whereas persevering with insurance policies that can devastate Black communities. It’s an act of historic weaponization designed to not advance racial justice or historic fact or convey the Kennedy and King households fact and a few closure, however to serve his broader authoritarian agenda, manipulate public notion and distract from his personal dismantling of civil rights protections.

This can be a traditional misdirection tactic: use high-profile, seemingly “anti-establishment” strikes to deflect from his administration’s precise insurance policies. Releasing these assassination data permits him to posture as a authorities “truth-teller,” whereas concurrently eroding each structural achieve that Black Individuals have fought for. By dangling the declassification of MLK’s assassination recordsdata, he’s manufacturing the phantasm of presidency transparency, whereas consolidating a deeply anti-Black coverage agenda.

A basic view of the Lorraine Motel and Room 306, the location in Memphis, Tennessee, the place civil rights chief Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, as he stood on the balcony exterior the room. | Supply: SETH HERALD / Getty

Trump is exploiting MLK’s legacy whereas undermining it. MLK was some of the closely surveilled and focused figures in American historical past, topic to COINTELPRO sabotage, FBI harassment, and systemic makes an attempt to delegitimize his motion. Any severe examination of the MLK assassination would require acknowledging how the U.S. authorities actively labored towards him. However that’s exactly what Trump and his allies try to erase from public reminiscence.

Apart from, he has promoted the narrative that racism now not exists in America, framing Black activism as divisive slightly than vital. He has labored to criminalize protest and strip authorized protections from actions like Black Lives Matter, echoing the very ways used towards MLK. By selectively amplifying authorities secrecy round MLK’s assassination, Trump is co-opting MLK’s legacy whereas concurrently crushing the very racial justice efforts MLK fought for.

Probably the most harmful features of this declassification is how the data will probably be interpreted and weaponized.  Trump’s allies will undoubtedly push narratives that deflect blame away from the federal government’s lengthy historical past of undermining MLK and the civil rights motion. Count on to see makes an attempt guilty overseas actors or rogue people, slightly than confronting the truth that the U.S. authorities performed a direct function in surveilling, harassing and focusing on MLK. Trump has little interest in uncovering the true historical past of MLK’s assassination. He’s merely utilizing the data to rewrite historical past in a approach that advantages white grievance politics.

This can be a traditional misdirection tactic.

The households of Dr. King and JFK have expressed deep concern over President Trump’s current govt order to declassify assassination data. For them, these occasions will not be simply historic incidents however deeply painful private tragedies. The King household emphasised the enduring ache of their father’s loss and requested the chance to overview the recordsdata earlier than their public launch. JFK’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, rightly criticized the transfer as a political maneuver, saying that it exploits his grandfather’s legacy. Whereas these households undoubtedly search solutions, the sudden politicization of their family members’ deaths solely exacerbates their grief. It’s disheartening to see such delicate issues getting used as instruments for political achieve.

Utilizing MLK’s legacy as a pawn in a political sport designed to uphold the very methods of oppression that focused him is likely one of the most cynical, sinister and insulting strikes possible. For Trump, MLK’s picture is nothing greater than a rhetorical defend that he will get to invoke throughout speeches so he can feign inclusivity whereas he emboldens white nationalism. Like a political grave robber, he desecrates MLK’s reminiscence for performative functions, stripping his legacy of its true revolutionary and anti-racist intent.

Be clear—Trump is doing all the pieces he can to maintain all the pieces MLK stood for deader than a doorknob. It’s like he’s making an attempt to taxidermy MLK’s legacy into one thing grotesquely unrecognizable. This necrophilic historic grave-robbing is corrupt, shameless, self-serving and as ghoulish as the person digging up the bones and making an attempt to French kiss the corpse again to life.

Dr. Stacey Patton is an award-winning journalist and the creator of Spare the Youngsters: Why Whupping Kids Received’t Save Black America.

SEE ALSO:

MLK Day Meets MAGA Day: The Civil Rights Motion’s Worst Plot Twist

Martin Luther King’s Household Speaks Out After Trump Orders MLK Assassination Recordsdata To Be Declassified

10 images