Does President Donald Trump know who Frederick Douglass is? Social media thinks not!
During a Black History Month event at the White House on Wednesday, February 1, the former reality star, 70, gave some interesting remarks about the abolition and civil rights leader and acclaimed author (watch above). “I am very proud now that we have a museum on the National Mall where people can learn about Reverend King, so many other things,” he said of the newly opened National Museum of African American History and Culture. “Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I noticed. Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and millions more black Americans who made America what it is today. Big impact.”
The comments made people question whether Trump thinks that civil rights pioneer Douglass, who died in 1895 after a historic lifetime of advocating for equals rights, is still alive. “So glad to hear Frederick Douglass has been alive and kicking this whole time!” one Twitter user joked. Another added, “Trump thinks Frederick Douglass is alive and getting better at his job.”
The jokes didn’t stop there. “You could show Trump a photo of Tyga, tell him it’s Frederick Douglass and he wouldn’t flinch,” one person tweeted. Another quipped, “Maybe Trump is going to meet with Frederick Douglass to thank him for all the amazing work he’s been doing?”
People also took issue with the fact that the business mogul failed to mention any accomplishments of African American heroes like Douglas, Tubman, Parks and many others, and instead turned to his favorite topics: himself and so-called fake news. “Last month, we celebrated the life of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., whose incredible example is unique in American history. You read all about Dr. Martin Luther King a week ago when somebody said I took the statue out of my office,” he said. “It turned out that that was fake news. Fake news. The statue is cherished, it’s one of the favorite things … and it was never even touched.”
See more reactions to Trump’s Black History Month speech below:
