Obama puts out call for service on MLK Day: ‘Make a positive impact on the world’

Former President Barack Obama on Monday urged Americans to “make a positive impact on the world” in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“I’ve always drawn inspiration from what Dr. King called life’s most persistent and urgent question: ‘What are you doing for others?’” Obama tweeted. “Let’s honor his legacy by standing up for what is right in our communities and taking steps to make a positive impact on the world.”

I’ve always drawn inspiration from what Dr. King called life’s most persistent and urgent question: “What are you doing for others?” Let’s honor his legacy by standing up for what is right in our communities and taking steps to make a positive impact on the world.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 21, 2019

The former president spent a number of his Martin Luther King Jr. Days in office volunteering at local organizations in Washington, D.C.

{mosads}His call for service comes as President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence visited the MLK Memorial in D.C.

The approximately two-minute visit was previously unannounced. In a tweet earlier Monday, Trump wrote that the U.S. celebrates King “for standing up for the self-evident truth Americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by God.”

Today we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for standing up for the self-evident truth Americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by God. #MLKDay https://t.co/pEaVpCB8M4

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 21, 2019

Pence faced criticism from King’s son, Martin Luther King III, after he compared Trump to the civil rights icon in a pitch for the president’s immigration proposal.

“Martin Luther King Jr. was a bridge builder, not a wall builder,” Martin Luther King III said on Monday.