G ranted, words are cheap, and too often President Donald Trump uses the wrong ones. But give him credit for using the right ones Saturday during his controversial appearance at the dedication of two new museums in Jackson.
Trump made a quick fly-in, at the invitation of Gov. Phil Bryant, for the bicentennial-connected dedication of the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.
In a 10-minute speech to select guests, Trump paid tribute to the sacrifices and achievements of civil rights veterans, both living and dead, even while a number of civil rights leaders boycotted Saturday’s events because they claim Trump disregards the values for which the movement stood.
“Today we strive to be worthy of their sacrifice. We pray for inspiration from their example,” the Republican chief executive said, and proceeded to espouse many of those values. “We want our country to be a place where every child from every background can grow up free from fear, innocent of hatred and surrounded by love, opportunity and hope. Today we pay solemn tribute to our heroes of the past and dedicate ourselves to building a future of freedom, equality, justice and peace.”
Those words, and others like them in his prepared remarks, could have been written as easily by a speechwriter for the NAACP as they were for a president who has been at times tone-deaf to the history of racial oppression in this country.
It was also a sign of political maturity that Trump uncharacteristically refrained from criticizing those who boycotted his appearance and who chastised Bryant for inviting him. Instead, the president concentrated his attention on those civil rights figures who did come, most notably Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of Medgar Evers, on whose sacrifice Trump lavished glowing and deserved praise.
Even if the president’s stay was brief, maybe that, too, was a concession. He avoided being a bigger distraction for what was supposed to be a unifying, celebratory weekend for this state.
With Trump, you never know whether his good deeds will last. By the time this editorial is printed, he could undue it all with a savage tweet storm.
As of this writing, though, the president should be complimented for a dignified, subdued appearance that hit the right notes and kept the focus where it rightly belonged: not on him, but on those whose courage made this state and this nation live up to its founding promise of fairness and justice.
