Comments from Rev. Jesse Jackson about Donald Trump have resurfaced following renewed attention on their long and often complicated public history. The civil rights leader’s past remarks, spanning praise and pointed criticism, have drawn fresh interest amid ongoing political debate.
Here’s what Jesse Jackson said about Donald Trump
According to Newsweek, Rev. Jesse Jackson praised Donald Trump in early 1999 at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s Wall Street Project conference in New York. Jackson thanked Trump for supporting minority business initiatives and providing free office space at 40 Wall Street. He also cited Trump’s backing of efforts to expand minority access to corporate America and financial markets. Trump said of Jackson, “He’s a terrific guy. We love him and I’m here for him.”
Their relationship changed after Trump entered partisan politics. During unrest in 2016, Jackson said Trump’s rhetoric had “helped to seed these clouds.” Referring to Trump’s statement that there was still work to be done “in order to make every American feel that their safety is protected,” Jackson called it “significant” and added, “I hope that Mr. Trump will maintain the level of rhetoric that we just now heard.”
Jackson criticized Trump’s role in promoting the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was born outside the United States. After Trump acknowledged in September 2016 that Obama was born in the U.S., Jackson told Bloomberg he had seen “a lie as a victory,” adding, “He has used these lies to mobilize the anti-Martin Luther King, anti-civil rights, anti-Barack’s victory forces into a solid force of fear and anger based upon that lie.” Jackson also described Trump’s call to deport 15 million people as “inconceivable,” stating, “It would create hostilities unimaginable.”
Following the 2017 Charlottesville rally, Jackson said, “Acid rain is coming from the top down,” and added, “The incitement to violence is very apparently coming from the White House.” In 2018, he said, “The language of Donald Trump has been a source of shame for our nation.” In a 2023 interview, Jackson stated, “Trump wants to pull us back into white supremacy.”
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
