WASHINGTON — (AP) — President Donald Trump's inaugural benediction on the federal holiday that celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. included an homage to the civil rights leader's legacy. The prayer by a Michigan pastor heavily cited King's seminal “I Have a Dream” speech alongside the Declaration of Independence, patriotic songs and gospel hymns.
In his spirited roughly three-minute invocation on Monday, Rev. Lorenzo Sewell thanked God for the incoming Trump administration and prayed “that America would begin to dream again.”
The comments were at times a near complete rendition of King’s 1963 address. He asked God to “let freedom ring” nationwide and ensure that Americans are “free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”
Sewell was a mainstay of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. He hosted Trump at his church in June, spoke at the Republican National Convention in July, and attended numerous campaign roundtables of faith leaders and pro-Trump conservative Christian rallies.
Sewell said during a Sunday night inaugural gala that Trump had personally asked him to pray during the inauguration.
“Heavenly father, we are so grateful that you gave our 45th and now our 47th president a millimeter miracle,” Sewell said Monday, referencing the July attempt on Trump’s life.
Here is more about Sewell and the reaction to his benediction:
Sewell, 43, has been the pastor at the non-denominational 180 Church on the west side of Detroit for seven years, and has said he came to Christianity in 1999 after a spiritual revelation from God.
Sewell adheres to a charismatic, conservative Christian doctrine and does not shy away from politics in his ministry.
“The gospel message is a political message. The Bible is a political book, from Genesis to Revelations. We see that the Bible is a political book,” Sewell told Fox News in January. “It is impossible to be politically neutral."
At the Black Conservative Federation’s Legacy of Freedom Ball on Sunday night, Sewell invoked Bible verses and gospel hymns as he prayed for Trump's protection.
“Would you put angels around him, angels that excel in strength, warring angels and ministering angels and flames of fire. And we decree and declare tonight that no weapon formed against him shall prosper,” Sewell said.
Shortly after delivering his energetic benediction, Sewell posted on social media that he had launched a cryptocurrency and he encouraged followers to buy it to support his charitable activities. Other major rightwing figures, including Trump, have recently launched cryptocurrencies.
Monday's ceremony was the third time a presidential inauguration has coincided with Martin Luther King Day in the nearly 40 years since its enactment as a federal holiday. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were also inaugurated for their second terms on the holiday.
Trump referenced King in his remarks.
"To the Black and Hispanic communities, I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me with your vote. We set records and I will not forget it. I’ve heard your voices in the campaign, and I look forward to working with you in the years to come," Trump said.
"Today is Martin Luther King Day, and his honor — this will be a great honor — but in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality. We will make his dream come true," Trump declared.
He said he intends to “end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life” and promised to “forge a society that is colorblind and merit based.”
King's family observed the holiday with a day of service and prayer, but references to the new administration were evident throughout. During proceedings at the King Center in Atlanta, Rev. William Barber III rejected the idea that Trump has the right to carry out the most sweeping parts of his agenda.
“You never win a mandate to violate justice. You never win a mandate to hurt people with your power,” Barber said. “We come today to remember Dr. King but more so to commit ourselves to the spirit,” he continued, praying “that every day we’ve got life in our bodies, to tell America who she is supposed to be.”
Civil rights leaders, including King's family, said before the inauguration that they were unsettled by the juxtaposition of Trump's return to the White House and the King holiday.
But many, including King’s youngest daughter Dr. Bernice King, urged those who want to carry out King’s vision to watch the inaugural address. Major civil rights organizations have adopted a wait-and-see approach to Trump’s second term, even as many privately prepared for him to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion policies, social programs and civil rights laws.
"For some, today’s inauguration represents the best of time: Make America great again. And for others, it highlights the worst of times: Set America back again. For some, today’s King holiday represents a day to champion freedom, justice and democracy. For others, it’s a day to decry DEI, disavow a legacy of peace, love and justice and distort the meaning of King’s words," she said.
"But regardless of how this day shows up for you, we must remember the mission and be in pursuit of it," King continued.
The holiday proceedings took place in Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the late King once presided. The senior of that church was not present for the sermons and day of service. Rev. Raphael Warnock, who also serves as a senator for Georgia in Congress, was in Washington observing the inaugural proceedings.
Warnock said in a video posted on social media that Trump’s inauguration “ironically” coincided with the King holiday and that while “his name was invoked throughout the ceremony, the agenda did not sound like Dr. King.”
Sewell's prayer received widespread praise from GOP lawmakers, conservative activists and the president's rank-and-file supporters online and in the Capitol One Arena where a rally for the president took place concurrently with events at the U.S. Capitol.
But some Black faith leaders and civil rights figures expressed unease at Sewell's prayer and Trump's references to King.
“Don’t let them hijack what Dr. King was about,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton. “Dr. King was a fighter. Dr. King used economic leverage. Dr. King was a man who stood up for economic justice," Sharpton argued. “And you can’t celebrate Dr. King without celebrating what he stood for.”
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