LEONARD GREENE: Watch Trump inauguration or honor Dr. King? You can do both.

It was atrocious capable that we had to spot Donald Trump prevail.

Then we had to ticker helplessly arsenic Vice President Kamala Harris, the hostile helium defeated, had to certify his victory.

Now, we person to endure the indignity of witnessing Trump sworn successful — again — arsenic president of the United States connected the aforesaid time the federation celebrates the Martin Luther King holiday.

Surely, determination are immoderate words of comfortableness and absorption from King to assistance america done these troubling times.

“We’ve got immoderate hard days ahead,” King said successful his past nationalist speech. “But it truly doesn’t substance with maine now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop.  And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would similar to unrecorded a agelong beingness — longevity has its place.But I’m not acrophobic astir that now. I conscionable privation to bash God’s will. And He’s allowed maine to spell up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land.”

The connection present is, don’t despair.

But it appears that the days up are a small excessively hard for many, including Michelle Obama.

The erstwhile archetypal woman announced that she would not beryllium attending Trump’s inauguration connected Monday.

Another scheduling conflict? Not this time.

“There’s nary overstating her feelings astir [Trump]. She’s not 1 to plaster connected a pleasant look and unreal for protocol’s sake,” an Obama insider told People magazine. “Michelle doesn’t bash thing due to the fact that it’s expected oregon it’s protocol oregon it’s tradition.”

Days earlier, she missed erstwhile President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, wherever she would person been seated adjacent to Trump.

Her husband, erstwhile President Barack Obama, is expected to be the inauguration.

The backlash from Trump supporters has been swift. They look to person forgotten that their feline blew disconnected President Biden’s inauguration successful 2021— aft trying to overthrow the government.

But Trump was elected just and quadrate this time, and showing up astatine the inauguration is much astir honoring America than it is astir saluting Trump.

Country euphony vocalist Carrie Underwood was forced to admit arsenic overmuch erstwhile she responded to critics who blasted her for accepting an invitation to execute “America the Beautiful” astatine the event.

“I emotion our state and americium honored to person been asked to sing astatine the inauguration and to beryllium a tiny portion of this historical event,” Underwood said successful a statement. “I americium humbled to reply the telephone astatine a clip erstwhile we indispensable each travel unneurotic successful the tone of unity and looking to the future.”

Among Underwood’s defenders is speech amusement big and histrion Whoopi Goldberg, whom nary 1 would mistake for a Trump fan.

“If I judge I person the close to marque up my caput to spell execute immoderate place, I judge [she has] the aforesaid right. I person to support,” Goldberg said connected her amusement “The View.” “It doesn’t mean I’m peculiarly interested. I won’t beryllium watching, but that’s conscionable me.”

The past clip Inauguration Day fell connected the King vacation was successful 2013. Barack Obama took the oath of bureau for the 2nd time, and was sworn successful connected a worn leather Bible erstwhile owned by King himself.

Trump astir apt won’t beryllium doing that.

But watching oregon attending the inauguration this clip astir doesn’t mean you are turning your backmost connected King oregon the Black race.

“We request to decipher that code truthful we cognize wherever our conflict lines are and what our struggles volition be,” the Rev. William Barber II, a salient civilian rights leader, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Barber volition present the keynote code astatine the yearly King Day work astatine Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.

“We don’t request to crook away,” Barber said. “Dr. King didn’t crook distant from struggle. He turned toward it.”