Monday is Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, and on Sunday morning, ABC’s This Week decided it was the perfect opportunity to scold the Republican over his civil rights record.
During the show’s weekly “powerhouse puzzler” segment, guest host Martha Raddatz asked the This Week panel “which president signed a law making MLK’s birthday a national holiday?” The ABC reporter then played a clip from ABC’s report on the signing ceremony in which ABC’s Sam Donaldson proclaimed “the president and Dr. King's widow walking into the Rose Garden together in an effort to spruce up Mr. Reagan's tattered civil rights image.”
After asking her panelists what their answers were, the ABC reporter happily played the full clip of Donaldson hitting Reagan for his civil rights record:
The White House staged an impressive ceremony today. The president and Dr. King's widow walking into the Rose Garden together in an effort to spruce up Mr. Reagan's tattered civil rights image. The president signed the bill, which he had so strongly opposed, making Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday.
See relevant transcript below.
ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos
January 18, 2015
MARTHA RADDATZ: But first our "powerhouse puzzler," inspired by Martin Luther King Day. Here's the question. Which president signed a law making MLK’s birthday a federal holiday? Back in two minutes with the answer.
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RADDATZ: So, which president signed a law making MLK’s birthday a federal holiday? Let's see those white boards. Governor?
JENNIFER GRANHOLM: Ronald Reagan.
ADAM KINZINGER: I’m going to say Ford.
RADDATZ: Ford for $1,000.
KINZINGER: Ford for $1,000.
RADDATZ: Matt Dowd?
MATTHEW DOWD: Ronald Reagan.
RADDATZ: Ronald Reagan.
ALICIA MENENDEZ: Ronald Reagan.
RADDATZ: His boyhood home is in your district. Correct?
KINZINGER: It is, yes. In Dixon, Illinois.
RADDATZ: Okay, Ronald Reagan not Ford’s. For the answer, let's go back to 1983 and our old friend, Peter Jennings.
[Begin clip]
PETER JENNINGS President Reagan signed into law a bill today creating a national holiday honoring Martin Luther King. ABC’s Sam Donaldson was at the White House.
SAM DONALDSON: The White House staged an impressive ceremony today. The president and Dr. King's widow walking into the Rose Garden together in an effort to spruce up Mr. Reagan's tattered civil rights image. The president signed the bill, which he had so strongly opposed, making Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday.
— Jeffrey Meyer is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Jeffrey Meyer on Twitter. [1]