Trump’s Jesse Jackson praise immediately backfires: 'Everything he fought for is at risk'

President Donald Trump heaped an praise on civil rights icon Jesse Jackson Monday morning in the wake of his death, but just hours later one of Jackson’s most prominent protégés clapped back — and accused Trump of putting “everything he fought for” at risk.

Jackson passed away early Tuesday, and Trump issued a statement shortly after in which he sent his “deepest sympathies and condolences” to Jackson’s family, calling the civil rights leader a “good man” who “truly loved people.” Jackson was among the most prominent leaders of the movement in the 1960s, alongside other titans such as Martin Luther King Jr., Fred Hampton and Malcolm X.

But Jackson's protégé, Rev. Al Sharpton, hit back by accusing the Trump administration of directly attacking Jackson’s legacy.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion, which has now been wiped out by this present administration, that was Jesse Jackson!” Sharpton said in New York City.

“[Jackson said] we've got to diversify employment for Blacks, for women, for browns, for LGBTQ! So we are sitting at a stage where everything he fought for is at risk, and if we want to mourn him, we've got to preserve what he fought for.”

Sharpton’s relationship with Jackson goes back to 1969 when he was appointed – then aged 14 – to serve as the youth director for Operation Breadbasket, a campaign designed to address poverty in Black communities. Sharpton went on to have a lifelong relationship with Jackson, both of whom continued their advocacy work in targeting racial inequality and systemic racism.