Martin Luther King III met with president-elect Donald Trump on Monday, recognizing the holiday in honor of his father, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
After the meeting, King was questioned by reporters who repeatedly asked him to react to Trump’s comments about Democratic Congressman John Lewis.
“Well, first of all I think that in the heat of emotion a lot of things get said on both sides,” King said. “And I think that at some point I am, as John Lewis and others are, a bridge builder. The goal is to bring America together and Americans. We are a great nation, but we must become a greater nation.”
When asked again about Trump’s comments about Congressman Lewis, King replied that “At some point in this nation we’ve got to move forward.”
When asked about what message his father would have for President-elect Trump, King replied, “I think my father would be very concerned about that fact that we have 50-60 million people living in poverty and somehow we gotta create the climate for all boats to be lifted. In America, a multi-trillion dollar economy…its insanity that we have poor people in this nation. That’s unacceptable.”