The son of Atlanta’s and perhaps the world’s most prominent social justice figure, Martin Luther King Jr. was full of predictions and hot takes after Wednesday night’s Democratic debate at Tyler Perry Studios.
Martin Luther King III spoke with TMZ after the three-hour debate that pitted 10 presidential hopefuls against each other on topics such as housing equality, child care, environment and marijuana legalization.
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King did not name a candidate as his favorite Wednesday night, but he called out the candidates he thought had the top performances. King, who is the former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said he was “interested” in what Andrew Yang and Sen. Elizabeth Warren had to say during the debate. However, two candidates topped the rest, according to King.
“Sen. Cory Booker had a very good night, and Sen. (Kamala) Harris, I thought had a good night.”
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
The King offspring also gave credence to Mayor Pete Buttigieg. He did not mention any of the other candidates in his commentary. King predicted the polling after the latest debate would show “some movement” in favor of Booker and Harris.
King's other siblings, Bernice and Dexter King, have not come out to support any particular Democratic candidates. However, Bernice King, CEO of the King Center, spoke highly of Warren in 2017, calling her the "soul of the Senate," according to a report by Saporta Report.
Bernice and Martin Luther King III stand on different sides of the aisle than their cousin Alveda King, who has in recent years become an ambassador for President Donald Trump and his campaign. Alveda King was raised in the same household as Martin Luther King Jr. She told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this year that she supports Trump because she said he supports her Christian views on anti-abortion measures.
»MORE: Alveda King is a niece of Martin Luther King Jr. — and a Trump booster
“It almost doesn’t matter what they say about me, as long as they spell my name right,” King said. “I am a Christian evangelist. I support candidates whose platforms I agree with.”
Martin Luther King III, who is also a Christian, said after last night’s debate he hopes to see more progressive changes as a nation on issues including legalizing marijuana.
“We’re at a point where we need to stop criminalizing people who have used marijuana,” King told TMZ. “I think there’s a whole lot of nonviolent offenders in jail today because of marijuana. I just think that’s unfair.”
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