There was a time when Rev. Jesse Jackson and Donald Trump were very friendly with each other.
The pivot by Jackson as being anti-Trump took place after Trump decided he was going to run for president as a Republican.
It would appear that Trump latched onto those memories when he made his comments about Jackson’s passing.
I don’t know that I would say that Donald Trump and Jesse Jackson were ever friends, but they were definitely friendly.
They attended events together in the past, as well as Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton, if you can believe that, once heaping praise on Donald Trump.
For instance, during a 1999 Rainbow Coalition event, Jackson said that Trump had embraced “the under-served communities,” adding, “We need your building skills, your gusto… for the people on Wall Street to represent diversity.”
At a 1998 event, he introduced Trump to the crowd, stating, “When we opened this Wall Street project… He gave us space at 40 Wall Street, which was to make a statement about our having a presence there.”
It was only when Trump started to make a name for himself as a Republican that Jackson pivoted against Trump, which is when the Democrat playbook came out.
For instance, during the 2024 campaign, Jackson stated, “Trump wants to pull us back to white supremacy. DeSantis is even worse.”
He also pulled out the biggest of all Democrat talking points, stating, We’ll win if we vote our numbers, but if we don’t, we risk losing our democracy.”
Trump has never really talked badly about Jackson, at least that I can remember. He likely knows this is just how this game is played. But I would note that Jackson is one of the few people who hit Trump personally that did not catch much return fire.
Jackson has been in the news quite a bit lately for health reasons, and he finally lost the battle, passing away at the age of 84.
Trump responded to the news, stating, "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.’ He was very gregarious - Someone who truly loved people!"
Trump continued, "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.”
The president then recounted how he had helped Jackson with the office space mentioned above, as well as his work with HBCUs. Trump then noted how Jackson did not like Obama, which I have no idea if it is true, but that is the line that most major media outlets concentrated on in their reporting. This was Trump taking the high road, a far different response from when Trump commented on the death of Rob Reiner.
