President Donald Trump took a swipe at former President Barack Obama while reacting to the death of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson in a post shared on his Truth Social account Tuesday (February 17) morning.
“The Reverend Jesse Jackson is Dead at 84. I knew him well, long before becoming President. He was a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts,'” Trump wrote. “He was very gregarious – Someone who truly loved people! Despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a Racist by the Scoundrels and Lunatics on the Radical Left, Democrats ALL, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way. I provided office space for him and his Rainbow Coalition, for years, in the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street; Responded to his request for help in getting CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM passed and signed, when no other President would even try; Single handedly pushed and passed long term funding for Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), which Jesse loved, but also, which other Presidents would not do; Responded to Jesse’s support for Opportunity Zones, the single most successful economic development package yet approved for Black business men/women, and much more. Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him. He had much to do with the Election, without acknowledgment or credit, of Barack Hussein Obama, a man who Jesse could not stand. He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Jackson’s family announced his death in a statement obtained by ABC News Tuesday morning.
“Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the family statement said.
“We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by,” it added.
Jackson was reported to be placed on life support and receiving treatement at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in November. The civil rights leader was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative condition progressive supranuclear palsy, similar to Parkinson’s, which Jackson had been diagnosed with in 2017.
Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH organization had previously confirmed his hospitalization on November 13.
“We are grateful for the medical team at Northwestern Hospital,” the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said in a statement after Jackson was hospitalized in November via ABC News. “They will continue to monitor his progress and well-being to ensure the best possible care and support.”
“The family is grateful for all the well-wishes and prayers,” the statement added.
Jackson began as a young protégé to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement and maintained his status as a prominent civil rights leader for more than seven decades, having served as a shadow delegate and senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. The South Carolina native ran for president as a Democrat twice, placing third for the party’s nomination in both the 1984 and 1988 elections, which were the most successful runs by any Black candidate prior to former President Obama winning the nomination and presidency in 2008.
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