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Former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg both joined Sharpton and NAN for a breakfast in Washington, DC, in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday morning.

WASHINGTON, DC JANUARY 21: Former Vice President Joe Biden is greeted by Rev. Al Sharpton during the National Action Network Breakfast on January 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. Martin Luther King III was among the attendees. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC JANUARY 21: Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is greeted by Rev. Al Sharpton during the National Action Network Breakfast on January 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. Martin Luther King III was among the attendees. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has attended several Sharpton/NAN events, including a post-election meeting held by NAN on Capitol Hill in November, and a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day rallies in New York in 2018 and 2019:

U.S. Sen, Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, delivers remarks as Rev. Al Sharpton, left, listens at the National Action Network House of Justice, in New York, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. Prominent lawmakers and community leaders took aim at President Donald Trumps racial rhetoric at a New York commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.s birthday. Monday would have been Kings 89th birthday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Top contender Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) also attended the post-election meeting on Capitol Hill last November:

WASHINGTON, DC NOVEMBER 13: The Rev. Al Sharpton (L) talks with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) during a post-midterm election meeting of Sharptons National Action Network in the Kennedy Caucus Room at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill November 13, 2018 in Washington, DC. Politicians believed to be considering a run for the 2020 Democratic party nomination, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), addressed the network meeting as well as House members vying for leadership positions. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC NOVEMBER 13: The Rev. Al Sharpton (R) listens to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) as she addresses Sharptons National Action Network during a post-midterm election meeting in the Kennedy Caucus Room at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill November 13, 2018 in Washington, DC. Politicians believed to be considering a run for the 2020 Democratic party nomination, including Warren and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), addressed the network meeting to talk about their legislative priorities. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Sharpton has a long history of controversial racial rhetoric. In the notorious Tawana Brawley case in 1987, Sharpton backed a teenagers false accusations of rape, stirring racial divisions in New York and across the country. When he was successfully sued for defamation, he refused to pay the judgement, and supporters had to step in on his behalf. Sharpton still refuses to apologize for his role.

In 1991, Sharpton helped incite riots against religious Jews in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn after a black child was killed in a car accident. An enraged mob murdered a visiting Jewish religious student, Yankel Rosenbaum. Rosenbaums brother told Breitbart News in 2012: I have never seen a person be able to avoid being held accountable in substantive terms for his various and significant serious otherwise well publicized misdeeds over such a prolonged period of time, as Sharpton. This is truly an indictment on all those who have done so in the past and continue to do so. (Sharpton acknowledged some of his mistakes in Crown Heights, while protesting his innocence, in a 2011 op-ed in theNew York Daily News.)

In another riot in 1995, Sharpton led protests against Freddys Fashion Mart, a Jewish-owned store in Harlem, after it was forced to raise the rent on a sub-tenant, a black-owned record store. (Sharpton called the owner a white interloper.) One of the protesters later shot four employees and set the store on fire, bringing the death total to seven.

As of 2008, Sharptons NAN had massive debts and owed $2 million in taxes, which it claimed to be paying off. In 2014, theNew York Times reported that Sharpton had more than $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses, which he denied. And in 2009, Sharpton and NAN agreed to pay $285,000 in civil penalties after the Federal Election Commission found that NAN had made improper contributions to his 2004 presidential campaign, when he ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party nomination.

In 2012, Sharpton and NAN played a key role in inflaming national division and outrage over the death of Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed during a scuffle with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Sharpton promoted false reports that Zimmerman used what Sharpton called racial language in speaking with police. He used his prime-time program on MSNBC to promote the story, including the claim that Zimmerman whose mother is Peruvian was white, implying racial bias in the killing.

Despite that record, Sharpton has been rehabilitated by the left and the mainstream media. He hosted Saturday NightLive in 2003.He spoke to the Democratic National Convention in 2004 (breaking with his prepared text to aim a racially-tinged attack at President George W. Bush). He was hired as a host by MSNBC in 2011.

But the most important event in Sharptons journey from the fringe to the mainstream was President Barack Obamas decision to embrace him in 2011, even as other black leaders on the left stepped up their criticism of the administration.

As the Daily Beast reported:

Obama stayed so far away from Sharpton during the 2008 campaign that Sharpton, with Obamas blessing, never even endorsed him. Yet not only did Obama just become the first president ever to appear at the annual conference of Sharptons National Action Network, ten top Obama aides, including six cabinet members, Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod, spoke at various sessions of the four-day event.

Today, Democratic hopefuls are beating a path to Sharptons door, eager to speak at his NAN podium with the slogan, No Justice, No Peace emblazoned behind them.

And the media remain largely silent about Sharptons past.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author ofHow Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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Democrat Presidential Hopefuls Court Al Sharpton, Ignore ...

Sharpton claimed that Trump and Pence only visited the MLK Memorial because Sharpton attacked them earlier in the day for not having an official event at the White House to celebrate Martin Luther King Day a federal holiday that Ronald Reagan signed.

After we attacked him, he went by a drive by of the King Memorial, a 90-second stop, which is an epitome of an insult, Sharpton said. We dont want a drive by, Mr. president. We want government open and, in honor of Dr. King, you should address the government workers, that he died fighting for sanitation workers in Memphis. If you really were sincere, you would talk to some of the workers that you have furloughed and delayed pay.

Sharpton then accused Trump of being the most insensitive president weve seen in our lifetime for not even addressing the federal workers who are furloughed.

Fact of the matter is, when you spoke to the whole country the other night, you didnt even speak to those workers, Sharpton said. So the workers get no comment, no words from the president, and Dr King gets a drive by. This is the most insensitive president weve seen in our lifetime.

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Al Sharpton: Trump, Pence Drive-By MLK Memorial Visit ...

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*The Reverend Al Sharpton says hes open to backing Michael Bloomberg or Joe Biden for the 2020 Presidential election but the wont make a formal endorsement for more than a year, per The Atlantic.

The publication notes that the 2020 Democrats courting of Sharpton is well under way, and the civil-rights leader expects his endorsement to make a difference when he makes it.

Sharpton is already making big power moves behind the scenes. According to the report, he met with Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker over the weekend. Hes had conversations with Kamala Harris and Terry McAuliffe in recent weeks. And he soon will be sc meeting with Beto ORourke.

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Next Monday hell chop it up with, Michael Bloomberg who will join Joe Biden at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Washington, D.C., held by Sharptons advocacy organization, the National Action Network, The Atlantic writes.

I dont think were looking for someone without flaws. Im looking for someone who can work on an agenda going forward, Sharpton said in an interview on Monday. He plans to hold off for at least a year before making an official endorsement. No one has won him over completely yet.

Ive been in this too long to be swayed by charisma. I want to hear policy, Sharpton said. Im hearing some good things, some incomplete.

Meanwhile, Rev. Al has suggested how Americans should spend the upcoming Martin Luther King holiday weekend, saying: America has a way of distorting holidays but we should not forget the reason for the Martin Luther King Holiday. Its about fighting for justice and freedom, its not about having a day off from school and work. This year let us fight to make things fair. There are 800,000 employees not getting paid, there are people being treated unfairly so lets fight for justice. Monday is a Justice day, a fairness day, this is not a day to make you feel good.

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Al Sharpton Open to Backing Michael Bloomberg or Joe Biden ...

Earlier this week it was confirmedthat Travis Scott will be performing with Maroon 5 during the Super Bowl halftime show in February, and on Friday, Rev. Al Sharpton expressed his disappointment with the rapper for accepting the gig.

"I think anyone that goes into the halftime show is in effect directly violating those that want to raise the question that the NFL should come to terms with what they have done and continue to do to Colin Kaepernick and those that protest on criminal justice issues," Sharptontold TMZ.

"You can't tell people to stand for those that take a knee and don't go to the games and then say 'but somebody oughta perform there and entertain,'" he explained."You're drawing TV viewers, you're bringing supporters, and I think that you can't have it both ways. You can't help people market something and then turn around and say you agree with the people protesting."

A number of artists --including JAY-Z, Rihanna and Cardi B-- have turned down the halftime show (which will take place Feb. 3 in Atlanta)in solidarity with Kaepernick. Sharpton said he thinks Scott should follow suit and reject the offer.

"I think he should do what a lot of other major artists have done: say 'I'm not going to participate.' You can't fight against Jim Crow and then go sit in the back of the bus," he said.

Michael B. Jordan also spoke outabout Scott's performance, telling TMZ, "That's something I'm not that happy with...We're still trying to stand behind something right now."

Check out the video of Sharpton's remarks below.

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Al Sharpton Calls Out Travis Scott for Performing at Super ...

Along with Meek Mill and, sources tell Variety, Jay-Z the Reverend Al Sharpton has criticized Travis Scott for his still-unconfirmed decision to perform with Maroon 5 at the Super Bowl in February, saying that such a performance is effectively an endorsement of the NFLs treatment of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The leagues stance toward the athlete, who has not played professionally since his controversial stance to take a knee during the National Anthem before games, has polarized audiences and significantly complicated this years halftime performance, among many other issues.

In an interview with TMZ posted early Saturday, Sharpton said, I think anyone that goes into the halftime show is in effect directly violating those that want to raise the question that the NFL should come to terms with what they have done and continue to do to Colin Kaepernick and those that protest on criminal justice issues.

You cant tell people to stand for those that take a knee and dont go to the games and then say but somebody ought to perform there and entertain,' he continued.Youre drawing TV viewers, youre bringing supporters, and I think that you cant have it both ways. You cant help people market something and then turn around and say you agree with the people protesting.

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While no artists have officially stated they are declining to perform at the Super Bowl because of the Kaepernick situation although Rihanna and Cardi B have implied as much sources say that Maroon 5 have struggled to find performers to accompany them during the halftime show. While the groups performance has not been officially announced or confirmed since word leaked out about it late in September, they have not denied it, either. The performer is usually confirmed much earlier in the season this years halftime star, Justin Timberlake, was announced last October and it seems likely that the announcement could come tomorrow (Dec. 23), the final game day before the holiday.

Cardi B who performs with the group on its hit Girls Like You and seems an obvious accompanist for the show in particular is said to be working the situation to her advantage. Late Friday, the New York Post cited an unnamed source close to the Maroon 5-Cardi B negotiations as saying the rapper is holding out for $1 million (Super Bowl performers are not paid) and the solo spot. Cardi B is standing tough and holding out. She doesnt want to do it unless they roll out the red carpet for her, the source reportedly said. A rep for Cardi responded, The rumor circulating that she wants a million dollars and she wants her own set is false. There was never a firm offer to begin with for a performance. There [were] talks about it, but she was not particularly interested in participating because of how she feels about Colin Kaepernick and the whole movement ... But again, there was never a solid offer for her to say yes or no to regarding the Super Bowl. She is already confirmed to do a set with Bruno Mars [at a separate Super Bowl week event] that weekend.

Sharpton concluded, I think he should do what a lot of other major artists have done: say Im not going to participate. You cant fight against Jim Crow and then go sit in the back of the bus.

Variety will have more on this situation as it develops.

Link:
Al Sharpton Slams Travis Scott for Super Bowl Performance