MLK III believes his father would be 'disappointed' but 'hopeful' over Biden inauguration

Martin Luther King III joined The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and weighed in on the extraordinary circumstances surrounding President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. Following a deadly insurrection at the Capitol while the election was being certified on Jan. 6, civilians will not be allowed on the National Mall to witness the inauguration. Instead, tens of thousands of National Guard troops have been deployed to Washington, D.C., to ensure a safe transfer of power.

“It feels sort of bittersweet that we have come to this place where we have to be so concerned about the security of our incoming commander in chief and the vice president-elect,” King said.

King also spoke about how he thinks his father would feel about what’s happening were he alive today.

“My father would be greatly disappointed, but he would certainly be hopeful because Americans — 81 million came together and elected new leadership, and we’re going to see what a commander in chief is supposed to be,” King said. “We haven't seen that in four years, in my judgment. We've seen what it's not supposed to be. We've seen a divided United States of America.”

Despite the deep division in the country, King remains confident that Americans can eventually come together under the leadership of Biden.

“Hopefully people will turn to each other and not turn on each other,” King said. “It's not going to be easy. It's not going to be quick. But in time I believe this can happen because the tone is set, in my judgment, by the commander in chief.”

The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer airs weeknights at 5 p.m. on CNN.

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