The Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday slammed President Donald Trump's visit to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum as "a missed opportunity" because he did not address the racial issues of today.
"I think that it was a missed opportunity," Sharpton told Alex Witt on MSNBC. "I think that the president could have addressed the issue of today that he mentioned people fought for to bring us to today.
"He's a sitting president," he added. "I think he missed the opportunity to deal with public policy I think those that were present missed the opportunity to confront him on very basic policies.
"If I had been there, I would have said, 'But let's talk about today and how do you memorialize what happened then when it's being repeated today' — and you give comfort and compassion there," Sharpton said.
Trump toured the museum in Jackson despite boycotts by two Democrats tied to the civil rights movement, Rep. John Lewis of Georgia and Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson.
In addition, Mississippi NAACP officials had a separate event in Jackson to "pay homage to those who have dedicated their lives to the civil rights of Mississippians, without the presence of President Donald Trump," the organization said.
"The Civil Rights Museum records the oppression, cruelty and injustice inflicted on the African-American community, the fight to end slavery, to break down Jim Crow, to end segregation, to gain the right to vote and to achieve the sacred birthright of equality," Trump said in his remarks.
"That's big stuff. That's big stuff," he added. "Those are very big phrases, very big words."
Lewis, 77, who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, announced his boycott Friday on Twitter:
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