On Martin Luther King Day, Democratic politicians are trying to energize themselves and the public as they prepare for the start of Donald Trump's presidency. They are drawing on King's legacy, as they get ready to do battle. Our Grace Rauh has the story.
By the end of the week, Donald Trump will be president.
"He needs to, on King Day, get King-like," said Rev. Al Sharpton. "What made Martin Luther King great was not how small he could be but how big he was."
Democrats in New York say they are taking lessons from the civil rights icon as they plot their strategy and response to the new administration.
"What would he do in this time? The first thing he would do is stand tall and he'd speak out," said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
Politicians waited to stand at the podium at Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network.
"We are in the midst of a storm," said Public Advocate Letitia James. "The cold bitter winds of change are coming."
Sen. Charles Schumer is the new Minority Leader of the Senate. As the highest-ranking Democrat in Washington, Trump critics are looking to him to be a powerful check on the next president.
"I am up for the fight," Schumer said.
Mayor de Blasio used the occasion to urge New Yorkers to join him Thursday night at a Midtown rally to mark the end of Obama's presidency and the beginning of a new fight for health care, police reform, the environment and an end to vast income disparities.
"Think about Dr. King the man, he would be telling us not to cower," the mayor said. "Not to be fearful or disempowered. He would be telling us to fight. Nobly."
But while all eyes are on Washington and the change in power taking place there on Friday, local political battle lines are being drawn here in the city.
"The way you beat Trump is you solve the homeless crisis in New York City," Comptroller Scott Stringer said.
It was a direct dig at de Blasio from a potential mayoral challenger.