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Republicans Got Roasted For The Hypocrisy of Their Martin Luther King Jr. Tributes

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Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and as they do every year, politicians took to social media to honor the civil rights leader. Given that they disagree with almost everything King stood for, numerous Republicans found themselves getting roasted for having the audacity to share MLK quotes or write tributes claiming to have respect for his non-violent protests and the work he did to get equal rights for African Americans.

Vice President Pence was called out for a tweet referring to King as “a great American leader who inspired a movement & transformed a Nation.” Last October, he walked out a football game in response to football players kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality against people of color, especially black Americans. If he was too disgusted to tolerate a peaceful demonstration to protest racism, it’s not hard to believe that he probably would’ve been the type of person who thought King’s protests weren’t respectable.

Congressman Steve King of Iowa, who’s got a long track record of saying racist things, shared an MLK quote and was promptly mocked for his hypocrisy. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arizona Sen. John McCain, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, and House Speaker Paul Ryan were also roundly ridiculed for pretending to admire King’s legacy.

Three of the nine currently active members of Congress who voted against making Martin Luther King Jr. Daya national holiday, including Alaska Sen. Richard Shelby, Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, and Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, offered up disingenuous tributes as well.

Fortunately, the vast majority of the responses they received were of people reminding them of their own racism and of policies they’ve pushed that King would have been completely against.