Dreams and Darkness: From MLK's Vision to Trump's America

Photo by Darold Pinnock on Unsplash

Five years ago, I wrote a piece comparing quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) and Donald Trump (DJT). It was a quiz, a game, a way to laugh at the absurdity of comparing a civil rights icon to... well, the other guy.

Six weeks later, COVID-19 would reshape life as we knew it. Soon after that, DJT did the unthinkable: refused to accept electoral defeat, spread lies about a stolen election, and on January 6th, 2021, incited his supporters to storm the United States Capitol building.

Yet here we are on this MLK Day, which darkly coincides with DJT's return to power—let's open this time capsule together: first, the original piece from 2020, when this still felt like a game, followed by reflections from 2025. The tone has shifted because everything else has.

2020: The Original Piece

Yesterday, we celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK), a profound figure in the history of our country, chiefly where civil rights are concerned. As a Christian minister and outspoken activist, he is known for his courage, wisdom, and acting in love and nonviolence. He is an American hero, and in a perfect world, we would do our best to walk in his footsteps, practice what he practiced, and preach what he preached. Short of that, we post some of his more famous quotes on social media as a way to prolong the life and memory of MLK. While reading through those quotes yesterday, I realized we have a current quote machine living in the White House in the form of our President, Donald J. Trump (DJT), who is always quick with a quip or word of wisdom for our country. I thought it would be fun to compare the quotes of the two men with a game called Who Said It? MLK or DJT?

The following are ten quotes stated by one of the two men. Read each excerpt and decide whether MLK or DJT said it. As you can imagine, this will not be an easy quiz due to the complexities of these two men, so be kind to yourself as you read through it. Good luck and happy reading. You can check out the answers at the end.

1. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” MLK or DJT?

2. “Look at my African-American over here. Look at him.” MLK or DJT?

3. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” MLK or DJT?

4. “I am the least racist person there is anywhere in the world.” MLK or DJT?

5. “I have black guys counting my money. … I hate it. The only guys I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes all day.” MLK or DJT?

6. “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” MLK or DJT?

7. “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay? It’s, like, incredible.” MLK or DJT?

8. “The beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.” MLK or DJT?

9. “Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice.” MLK or DJT?

“If we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of close-minded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts. Be careful, ‘brethren!’ Be careful, teachers!” MLK or DJT?

1. MLK from his “I Have A Dream” speech in Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963.

I started you off with an easy one to build your confidence as most of you have heard, or heard of, this speech; however, the more astute among you may have answered incorrectly, thinking it was the not-quite-as-famous quote from DJT, “I have a dream that my five children will one day NOT be judged by the color of my skin…it’s the best orange, perfect orange, nor by the content of the character of the three children born from my first wife, Ivana.”

I see how that may have thrown you a bit. I told you this wouldn’t be easy.

2. DJT at a June 3, 2016 campaign rally in Redding, CA.

Tough one, right? I bet that you guessed that MLK probably said this while out with the fellas one night at the local pub, pouring back cold ones, and upon noticing a friend return to the table with the next round of brewskis, turned to the group, and in a show of affection for his friend, said, “Look at my African-American over here. Look at him.” Close, but incorrect. DJT spoke these words at a campaign rally, deftly illustrating his bond with the past and expertise on trade.

3. MLK from his book, Strength to Love, 1963

It’s okay if you had to Google this one to answer correctly. MLK was known to be a man of love and nonviolence, but so, too, is DJT, having on many occasions offered to cover legal expenses for anyone who forcibly removes and roughs up a protester from a DJT rally.

4. DJT to reporters at the White House July 30, 2019

I know what you’re thinking. Can a quote be attributed to two people at the same time? Maybe so, but not this time. While MLK was a civil rights leader who fought for racial equality and economic justice his whole life and ultimately was assassinated due to his beliefs, it is DJT who uttered the phrases, “The Blacks love me!” and “Look at my African-American” as well as the bold stance that he is the least racist person anywhere in the world. MLK never made such a bold claim. I guess he wasn’t that confident in what he was doing.

5. DJT in USA Today, May 20, 1991

WTF?

6. MLK from his book, Strength to Love, 1963

Another tricky one. It’s incredible how much these two men have in common. I probably should have added context, maybe stating that the quote was a warning to the American people instead of a New Year’s resolution.

7. DJT speaking at a rally in Sioux Center, Iowa, January 23, 2016

While MLK was shot on multiple occasions, including on April 4, 1968, when he was assassinated outside his hotel room in Memphis, TN, he never shot anyone. He probably could not stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody because A., some racist zealot or typical New York driver, would have run him over for standing in the middle of Fifth Avenue, and B. It wasn’t a great time to be a black man in this country (insert any time ever), so shooting someone probably wouldn’t have gone over too well for MLK. DJT, on the other hand, while possibly having to negotiate with the typical New York driver, is much less likely to deal with anything too negative should he shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue. Thank goodness the GOP is in place to protect our leader.

8. MLK at his Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, 1964

At the mention of diamonds, silver, and gold, it’s difficult not to think of DJT, but I looked through all of DJT’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speeches and couldn’t find this quote. It must be MLK’s.

9. DJT at breakfast with African-American supporters, February 2, 2017

Frederick Douglass died in 1895, so neither MLK nor DJT knew him. DJT is referring here to Fredericks of Hollywood, who in 2017 posted a 22% increase in online sales over the prior year—a fantastic job. Excellent growth. DJT accidentally said Frederick Douglass because he heard that name being discussed among those attending the breakfast, an honest mistake. Editorial side note: I disagree with his comment that more and more people recognize Fredericks of Hollywood. Still, he would probably know better, so I won’t belabor the point too much.

10. MLK in “The Purpose of Education” from Morehouse College student newspaper, The Maroon Tiger, 1947

We weren’t careful.

So, how did you do? Check your scores below:

8–10 correct: You are a scholar and someone who has intensely studied the history of the US. I imagine you’re a tenured college professor who probably did their doctoral dissertation specifically on quotes from famous civil rights leaders and other yahoos.

5–7 correct: OK, so you’re not a tenured professor, maybe just an adjunct or Ph.D. candidate, but you got at least half right, even if you guessed on all of them.

3–6 correct: You may need to return and hit the books, literally. Punch all the books. It appears that they haven’t helped you much.

0–2 correct: You have probably added “covfefe,” “bigly,” and all the other best words to your vocabulary.

Thank you for taking the quiz. I hope you walk away from this exercise more educated and enlightened. Please tune in next week as, in light of DJT’s Senate impeachment trial beginning today, I will dig deeper into the lives of MLK and DJT by comparing and contrasting their respective impeachment trials. I hope you’ll join me.

—

2025: When the Laughter Stopped

When I wrote this piece in 2020, readers could still laugh at the absurdity of comparing these two men. After four years of Trump's presidency, such comparisons should have become obsolete - filed away with other artifacts from a strange chapter in American history.

Instead, as Trump returns to power, he arrives as a convicted felon, the only President to be impeached twice, carrying nearly 100 felony charges for crimes ranging from stealing classified documents to election interference, racketeering, and soliciting violation of oath by a public officer. We find ourselves making these comparisons again - not through humor and irony, but through necessity. His quotes aren't just reality TV nonsense anymore - they're the calculated threats of someone who wants to be king…and not the MLK type. What once served as entertainment now warns of the darkness ahead.

And that darkness descended quickly. On January 6th, Trump's words took on deadly significance: "These are things that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away." King's warning that "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" suddenly reads less like wisdom and more like prophecy.

The indictments followed. While King once said, "Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice," Trump declared, "If you go after me, I'm coming after you!" While one man tried to lift us higher, the other seems determined to burn it all down.

In 2025, as Trump returns to power declaring, "I will be your retribution," King's words echo with renewed urgency: "We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.”

On this MLK Day 2025, as our country stands at another crossroads, comparing these two men seems both absurd and necessary. History shows us that figures like Martin Luther King arise precisely because of men like Donald J. Trump. One man's dream of unity was born from fighting against another man's vision of division. King didn't just wake up one morning with a dream; he was responding to those who made that dream necessary.

The stakes are too high, and the darkness ahead too real. The question is no longer "Who Said It?" but "Which vision of America will we choose?" As King reminded us, “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Let us hope so, Dr King. Let us hope so.