President Donald Trump holds the executive order he signed to declassify the files of slain former President John F. Kennedy, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 23, 2025. | Source: ROBERTO SCHMIDT / Getty
The short-fingered vulgarian is at it again, bumbling through the first weeks of his presidential rerun like a bloated, spray-tanned ghoul with an unquenchable thirst for attention.
This time, he’s engaging in his favorite pastime—political grave robbing.
If there’s a long-dead historical figure with a righteous legacy worth looting, Trump’s there with a gold-plated Home Depot shovel in hand, digging through the dirt like a necrophiliac in a sweat-stained MAGA hat reeking of desperation and fast food grease. His latest séance-gone-wrong drags in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Apparently, haunting us with his own chaos and “covfefe” isn’t enough. Why stop at corrupting the present when you can desecrate history too?
Last week, in what he likely considers a historic moment of transparency (or at least a decent distraction), Trump announced that he’ll declassify any remaining files related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Trump is exploiting MLK’s legacy while undermining it.
Flanked by aides who seem to have already mastered the art of looking interested in his nonsense, Trump signed an executive order for the release of these records at the White House on Jan. 23. After an aide dutifully read out the formal decree, Trump, never one to miss an opportunity for self-congratulation, smirked and declared, “That’s a big one, huh? A lot of people are waiting for this for a long—for years, for decades.”
Ah yes y’all, the eloquence of this statesman is unparalleled! Few things convey deep historical understanding quite like mangling a basic observation about time. Long—for years, for decades—truly a masterclass in precision. Next, he’ll be explaining that water is wet, that centuries are just a bunch of decades stacked together, or that Lincoln’s been dead for, like, a really, really long time—many people are saying.
Take a deep existential sigh with me, Y’all.
The important thing is that he made it sound like he was personally revealing a long-buried national treasure, rather than just belatedly unsealing documents that should have been made public ages ago.
Of course, this “big one” comes with a slight hitch.
Trump’s order tasks the yet-to-be-confirmed director of national intelligence and attorney general with devising a plan to release the JFK files within 15 days, followed by another 45 days to figure out how to handle the RFK and MLK documents. Which means, much like everything else he touches, this grand reveal is already tangled in red tape and procedural purgatory.
You might be asking, why has he signed this executive order?
He is turning legitimate skepticism about government secrecy into fuel for his own vendetta.
Could it be a deep commitment to historical transparency? How ‘bout a burning passion for truth and justice? Maybe a sudden and uncharacteristic respect for history? Perhaps a newfound reverence for preserving the past with the dignity and seriousness it deserves? Has he, in some late-night epiphany between Diet Cokes and rage-posting, decided to take up the noble cause of full disclosure?
Or—hear me out now—has the man who thought Frederick Douglas was still out in these streets “doing great things” despite being dead for over a century been quietly losing sleep over the assassination of a legendary civil rights leader? Has the birther-in-chief who falsely claimed that his Jan. 6 insurrection crowd was bigger than the 1963 March on Washington been overcome with grief for Dr. King in a way that totally isn’t at odds with his long and storied history of racism?
Or, is this just another attempt to own the “libs” by pretending he’s the sole keeper of long-buried secrets? Did somebody on Truth Social mention the Deep State and now he thinks he can toss conspiracy theorists some fresh meat to gnaw on while he pretends to expose the real killers? Or is it just the usual Trumpian impulse where he randomly signs things so he can watch people clap for him?
The Martin Luther King Memorial has few visitors on Martin Luther King Day, which also was the day of the inauguration of President Trump, on January 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Source: Andrew Lichtenstein / Getty
Each of these questions are rhetorical, of course, because we already know the answer. His motivations are as suspect as a Trump University diploma. His decision to declassify the MLK assassination records, alongside those of JFK and RFK, isn’t about truth, justice, or any newfound respect for history. It’s about spectacle. It’s about Trump doing what Trump does best: grabbing headlines, fueling conspiracy fires and basking in the attention like a sunbaked Cheeto on a Mar-a-Lago lounge chair.
Trump has zero interest in civil rights justice. Expecting him to care about civil rights is like expecting him to read a book without pictures. So, what’s this really about besides inflating his ego, giving conspiracy weirdos something new to drool over and cosplaying as a truth warrior?
Don’t get it twisted, his latest move is part of his broader anti-government secrecy and transparency narrative along with his tendency to exploit historical conspiracies for political gain.
He has framed this as an effort to reverse the over-classification of government documents and restore public trust. Since JFK’s assassination has long been tangled in government secrecy, deep state paranoia about a vast government cover-up and mistrust of intelligence agencies, Trump sees an opportunity to weaponize these narratives to discredit government institutions, namely the DOJ, FBI, CIA, that have investigated him. He is turning legitimate skepticism about government secrecy into fuel for his own vendetta. At the end of the day, stoking anti-government paranoia isn’t just a tactic, it’s a cornerstone of his authoritarian ambitions. And let’s not forget, he didn’t just hint at his intentions, he outright said he plans to rule America like a dictator on day one.
By tossing in the MLK assassination files into the mix, he gets to position himself as an anti-establishment truth-teller, while simultaneously pushing policies straight out of the Project 2025 playbook that undermine racial justice while gutting DEI initiatives, attacking Black Lives Matter and stoking white nationalist grievances.
In his first week back in office, Trump has aggressively dismantled DEI initiatives within the federal government. He issued executive orders terminating all DEI-related mandates established under previous administrations, placing federal DEI staff on paid leave with plans for eventual layoffs and rescinding policies that promoted affirmative action. These actions have led to the removal of DEI resources from federal websites and a directive for federal employees to report any colleagues attempting to continue DEI efforts, with threats of adverse consequences for non-compliance. Trump has also mandated the removal of Black Lives Matter flag from federal spaces, further signaling a rollback of civil rights protections.
Using MLK’s legacy as a pawn in a political game is one of the most cynical, sinister and insulting moves imaginable.
So, let’s get this straight—Trump is out here gutting DEI, putting diversity staff on ice, scrubbing federal spaces of anything remotely pro-Black. He is promoting the erasure of Black history through policies that ban the teaching of systemic racism in schools and is basically turning civil rights protections into a piñata at a CPAC rally. But sure, let’s pretend he’s suddenly overcome with righteous curiosity about what really happened to MLK and a burning desire to expose truth. Maybe next, he’ll champion voting rights, start quoting James Baldwin and host a Juneteenth cookout at Mar-a-Lago.
What we are witnessing is a calculated, sinister PR move, which allows him to appear as a populist revealer of secrets for the benefit of “the people” while continuing policies that will devastate Black communities. It is an act of historical weaponization designed not to advance racial justice or historical truth or bring the Kennedy and King families truth and some closure, but to serve his broader authoritarian agenda, manipulate public perception and distract from his own dismantling of civil rights protections.
This is a classic misdirection tactic: use high-profile, seemingly “anti-establishment” moves to deflect from his administration’s actual policies. Releasing these assassination records allows him to posture as a government “truth-teller,” while simultaneously eroding every structural gain that Black Americans have fought for. By dangling the declassification of MLK’s assassination files, he is manufacturing the illusion of government transparency, while consolidating a deeply anti-Black policy agenda.
A general view of the Lorraine Motel and Room 306, the site in Memphis, Tennessee, where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, as he stood on the balcony outside the room. | Source: SETH HERALD / Getty
Trump is exploiting MLK’s legacy while undermining it. MLK was one of the most heavily surveilled and targeted figures in American history, subject to COINTELPRO sabotage, FBI harassment, and systemic attempts to delegitimize his movement. Any serious examination of the MLK assassination would require acknowledging how the U.S. government actively worked against him. But that is precisely what Trump and his allies are trying to erase from public memory.
Besides, he has promoted the narrative that racism no longer exists in America, framing Black activism as divisive rather than necessary. He has worked to criminalize protest and strip legal protections from movements like Black Lives Matter, echoing the very tactics used against MLK. By selectively amplifying government secrecy around MLK’s assassination, Trump is co-opting MLK’s legacy while simultaneously crushing the very racial justice efforts MLK fought for.
One of the most dangerous aspects of this declassification is how the records will be interpreted and weaponized. Trump’s allies will undoubtedly push narratives that deflect blame away from the government’s long history of undermining MLK and the civil rights movement. Expect to see attempts to blame foreign actors or rogue individuals, rather than confronting the reality that the U.S. government played a direct role in surveilling, harassing and targeting MLK. Trump has no interest in uncovering the real history of MLK’s assassination. He is simply using the records to rewrite history in a way that benefits white grievance politics.
This is a classic misdirection tactic.
The families of Dr. King and JFK have expressed deep concern over President Trump’s recent executive order to declassify assassination records. For them, these events are not just historical incidents but deeply painful personal tragedies. The King family emphasized the enduring pain of their father’s loss and requested the opportunity to review the files before their public release. JFK’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, rightly criticized the move as a political maneuver, saying that it exploits his grandfather’s legacy. While these families undoubtedly seek answers, the sudden politicization of their loved ones’ deaths only exacerbates their grief. It’s disheartening to see such sensitive matters being used as tools for political gain.
Using MLK’s legacy as a pawn in a political game designed to uphold the very systems of oppression that targeted him is one of the most cynical, sinister and insulting moves imaginable. For Trump, MLK’s image is nothing more than a rhetorical shield that he gets to invoke during speeches so he can feign inclusivity while he emboldens white nationalism. Like a political grave robber, he desecrates MLK’s memory for performative purposes, stripping his legacy of its true revolutionary and anti-racist intent.
Be clear—Trump is doing everything he can to keep everything MLK stood for deader than a doorknob. It’s like he’s trying to taxidermy MLK’s legacy into something grotesquely unrecognizable. This necrophilic historical grave-robbing is corrupt, shameless, self-serving and as ghoulish as the man digging up the bones and trying to French kiss the corpse back to life.
Dr. Stacey Patton is an award-winning journalist and the author of Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won’t Save Black America.
SEE ALSO:
MLK Day Meets MAGA Day: The Civil Rights Movement’s Worst Plot Twist
Martin Luther King’s Family Speaks Out After Trump Orders MLK Assassination Files To Be Declassified
Historical Grave Robbing: How Trump Declassifying MLK Files Masquerades As A Search For Truth was originally published on newsone.com
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