US President Donald Trump has very little time and patience for the work of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, dismantling it during his second term by doing away with Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness (DEI) appointments.

Today marks Martin Luther King Day, but President Trump says Americans would be better off celebrating Trump Day on January 20, as it is the day he was inaugurated as President in 2025.

Speaking to the New York Times, President Trump said the Civil Rights Act was very bad for many white people, explaining, “The civil rights era resulted in reverse discrimination for white Americans. White people were very badly treated, where they did extremely well, and they were not invited to go into a university or college, so I would say, in that way, I think it was unfair in certain cases.

“I think it was also, at the same time, it accomplished some very wonderful things, but it also hurt a lot of people that deserve to go to college or deserve to get a job, but were unable to get a job, so it was reverse discrimination.”

The Civil Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon B Johnson in 1964.

President Trump issued three executive orders at the start of 2025 declaring Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programmes to be “illegal and immoral discrimination”.