WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump singled out one of the most renowned figures in American history Wednesday with the type of praise he might normally reserve for a quality subcontractor on one of his development projects.
"Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who's done an amazing job that is being recognized more and more, I notice," Trump said during a Black History Month listening session at the White House.
"Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and millions more black Americans who made America what it is today. Big impact. I'm proud to honor this heritage. And we'll be honoring it more and more."
Douglass, who escaped slavery to become a leading abolitionist and social thinker, died in 1895. His life story is a staple of most grade-school curricula. Trump was recognizing him as someone whose impact is highlighted in the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the newest major Smithsonian museum to open in Washington.
"I am very proud now that we have a museum on the National Mall where people can learn about (the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.), so many other things," Trump said before noting the interest in Douglass.
