Seeking God's guidance, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prayed with the son of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on "healing the nation" just days before America's 45th president takes the helm of power.
Martin Luther King III, a human rights advocate and the oldest son of the famed civil rights leader, met the president-elect at Trump Tower in New York City on Monday, reports said.
Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer promptly tweeted, "@realDonaldTrump prayed with Martin Luther King III & discussed the legacy & work of his father #martinlutherkingday #MLKDAY."
According to a Washington Post source, Trump and King began their meeting with a prayer about "healing the nation."
Trump reportedly hailed the "wonderful things" that Martin Luther King Jr. stood for.
Even before the meeting, Trump tweeted: "Celebrate Martin Luther King Day and all of the many wonderful things that he stood for," adding, "Honor him for being the great man that he was!"
Trump's effusive words of praise for the man who helped bring about an end to racial segregation in America contrasted sharply with his online spat with another civil rights leader John Robert Lewis, who is skipping Trump's inauguration after claiming that Trump's election was "not legitimate" allegedly because of Russian hacking, the Daily Mail reported.
In response, Trump blasted Lewis, accusing him of being "all talk, talk, talk—no action or results."
Martin Luther King III tried to ease the tension, saying, "In the heat of emotion, a lot of things get said on both sides." King said what is important is the need to "bring America together." Taking off from Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan, King said: "We are a great nation, and we must become a greater nation."
During their meeting, King said Trump told him "over and over again" that he is "going to represent Americans."
He said he believes Trump's words. "I believe that that's his intent. But I think also we have to consistently engage with pressure, public pressure. It doesn't happen automatically. My father and his team understood that, did that," King said.
