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Trump praises 'true American heroes' at Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

Trump was uncharacteristically reserved during his brief visit to Jackson on Saturday for the state's bicentennial celebration and opening of two long-planned state landmarks, the Civil Rights and Mississippi History museums.
President Donald Trump waves after speaking following a tour of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on December 9, 2017 in Jackson, Mississippi. 

President Donald Trump looked somber as Reuben Anderson, Mississippi's first African-American Supreme Court justice, gave him and a handful of dignitaries a private tour of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

"I didn't have the courage to do what they did," former Justice Anderson told the president about the Tougaloo Nine, college students who held a sit-in at the whites-only Jackson Public Library in 1961. "They took their lives in their hands."

Trump slowly nodded his head and said little as he walked through an exhibit room dedicated to the Freedom Riders, the walls lined with police mugshots of those who were arrested and beaten (three were later murdered) for pushing for voting rights for African-Americans in Mississippi in the 1960s.

Trump was uncharacteristically reserved during his brief visit to Jackson on Saturday — a visit arranged by Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant for the state's bicentennial celebration and opening of two long-planned state landmarks, the Civil Rights and Mississippi History museums.

Trump's visit to the Civil Rights Museum brought protest and boycotts. Some state and national leaders, including civil rights veteran U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia (who was beaten and jailed in Jackson in 1961 as a Freedom Rider), U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba refusing to attend the event because of Trump.

Trump did not mention the protests or boycotts in his 9-minute speech to an invitation-only crowd of dignitaries and civil rights veterans. He eschewed politics of the day — also uncharacteristic — and gave an erudite speech to several hundred people before the main ceremony outside the museum attended by thousands.

"These buildings embody the hope that has lived in the hearts of every American for generations," Trump said. "The hope for a future that is more just and is more free ... Here we memorialize the brave men and women who struggled to sacrifice, and sacrifice so much, so that others might live in freedom."

Trump said Martin Luther King Jr. was "a man who I studied and watched and admired for my entire life," and praised James Meredith, for integrating Ole Miss, and the Tougaloo Nine. He called America's civil rights activists "true American heroes."

"And finally, martyrs like Sgt. Medgar Wiley Evers, whose brother (Charles) I just met at the plane, and who I like a lot," Trump said. He noted Medgar Evers, the Mississippi NAACP field secretary who was assassinated in 1963, joined the Army and fought in Normandy before "he came back to Mississippi and kept fighting for the same rights and freedoms he fought for in the war.

"Mr. Evers was assassinated by a member of the KKK in the driveway of his own home," Trump said.

Trump recognized and praised Myrlie Evers-Williams, Evers' widow and also a national civil rights leader and driving force behind the museum.

"I just want to say hello to Myrlie," Trump said as the crowd gave her a standing ovation.

"Today we pay solemn tribute to our heroes of the past and dedicate ourselves to build a future of freedom, equality, justice and peace," Trump said.

Trump was accompanied on his Mississippi visit by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and his wife, Candy. The president was met at Thompson Field by a crowd of more than 100 people, including a welcoming committee that included Gov. Phil Bryant, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, Charles Evers, Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. and Pascagoula Mayor Dane Maxwell, Trump's Mississippi campaign director.

Trump promptly left the museums after his speech, headed back to the airfield and boarded Air Force One. He was in Mississippi from 10:11 a.m. until 11:37 a.m.

Bryant, as he awaited Trump's arrival Saturday, noted it was a big day for Mississippi and for himself.

"This is great," Bryant said. "Our bicentennial, a presidential visit, museum openings and it's my birthday. I'm turning 50 for the 13th time."

Trump Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah on Thursday night told reporters that despite NAACP leaders and others protesting Trump's visit and some officials refusing to appear with him, Trump never considered canceling the Mississippi trip.

"We think it's a little unfortunate that a moment like this that could be used for unification and for bringing people together, some folks are choosing to play politics with it, but that's not going to deter us from honoring heroes in the civil rights movement."

Former Hinds County Supervisor George Smith, who registered to vote at the behest of Medgar Evers, said he was pleased to hear Trump's praise of civil rights veterans on Saturday.

But he's waiting to hear what Trump says when he returns to Washington and hopes he will “answer the ills we face today, problems with civil rights, education, healthcare — not only black but poor people, especially in a state like Mississippi.”

The White House Press Pool report and Clarion Ledger writer Jerry Mitchell contributed to this article.

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