Trump's MLK Day 2019 Plans: No Public Events While Pence Compares Leaders

President Donald Trump will not be participating in any public events for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, according to reports. Past republican and democratic presidents have done some form of commemoration to mark the day during their tenure in office.

Three days ago, Trump signed a proclamation for the federal holiday in which he encouraged “all Americans to recommit themselves to Dr. King’s dream by engaging in acts of service to others, to their community, and to our Nation.” However, it remains unclear how Trump plans to do that himself.

The news about Trump's absence from public events on MLK Day comes hours after Vice President Mike Pence appeared to compare the president to the slain civil rights leader. His comments came during a segment on CBS News' "Face The Nation" on Sunday while talking about the border-wall impasse and government shutdown.

“One of my favorite quotes from Dr. King was, ‘Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy,’” Pence said on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “You think of how he changed America. He inspired us to change through the legislative process, to become a more perfect union...That’s exactly what President Trump is calling on Congress to do: Come to the table in the spirit of good faith. We’ll secure our border. We’ll reopen the government and we’ll move our nation forward as the president said yesterday to even a broader discussion about immigration reform in the months ahead.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal holiday celebrating the birthday and legacy of the civil rights icon who was credited with winning anti-discrimination and voting rights for African-Americans. Former president, Ronald Reagan via a legislation which was signed by him in November 1983, declared the third Monday of January each year as a federal holiday in honor of King Jr., who was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Last year on MLK Day, Trump went golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida.

During his time as the president, Barack Obama and his family made it an annual tradition to participate in some type of service event on MLK Day. Former president George W. Bush, during his eight years in office, participated in service events, invited African-American clergy to the White House for lunch and was also part of cultural services honoring Dr. King.

Meanwhile, Pence's comments comparing Trump to MLK drew criticism on Twitter.