03/07/2026
America showed up for Rev. Jesse Jackson. Donald Trump did not.
President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Vice President Kamala Harris all traveled to Chicago for Rev. Jesse Jackson’s memorial service, joining thousands to honor one of the most important civil rights leaders in modern American history.
That matters.
Jesse Jackson was not just a preacher or a political figure. He was a movement builder. He expanded the moral imagination of American politics, forced this country to confront injustice, and helped open doors for generations of Black leaders, progressive activists, and marginalized communities. The fact that so many major Democratic leaders came to Chicago to pay tribute says something powerful about who understands that legacy and who does not.
And then there was the glaring absence: Donald Trump.
At a memorial for a man who spent his life fighting for civil rights, voting rights, economic justice, and human dignity, Trump was not there. That absence says plenty all by itself. While Democratic leaders came together to honor a giant of the civil rights movement, Trump once again revealed exactly where he stands when it comes to the people and causes Jesse Jackson spent his life uplifting.
This was more than a memorial. It was a reminder.
A reminder of the coalition Jesse Jackson helped build.
A reminder of the leaders who are willing to honor that tradition.
And a reminder that Donald Trump has never been part of that story.
Jesse Jackson helped bend America toward justice. The people in Chicago came to honor that work. Trump couldn’t even be bothered to show up.
