MLK III compares Trump to George Wallace

Martin Luther King Jr.’s eldest son on Monday compared President Trump to former Alabama Gov. George Wallace (D) amid backlash over Trump’s controversial “shithole countries” remark, The Associated Press reported.

“George Wallace was a staunch racist and we worked on his heart and ultimately George Wallace transformed,” Martin Luther King III said while speaking in Washington on the holiday named after his father.

“We got to find a way to work on this man’s heart,” he adding, referring to Trump.

{mosads}Wallace emerged during the height of the civil rights movement as one of the nation’s most vocal segregationists, declaring during his 1963 inaugural address: “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”

King’s remarks about Trump come after the president faced immense scrutiny for reportedly describing several nations as “shithole countries” during a meeting on immigration reform with lawmakers last week.

Trump made the comment in an Oval Office meeting with lawmakers during a discussion of protections for immigrants from several countries, according to The Washington Post.

 “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump reportedly said, referring to immigrants from African countries, Haiti and El Salvador. He then allegedly proposed bringing in more immigrants from countries like Norway, a predominantly white country. 

The White House did not initially deny the remarks, which were confirmed by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), but Trump later took to Twitter to say he “never” made such comments. 

Martin Luther King III joined the chorus of critics who say Trump’s recent remarks indicate he is racist. 

“When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I don’t even think we need to spend any time even talking about what it says and what it is,” he said, according to the report.