Don't mock Trump for COVID-19 diagnosis; instead push to protect the vulnerable: Rev. Al Sharpton

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Civil rights icon Rev. Al Sharpton says being diagnosed with COVID-19 could push U.S. President Donald Trump to get the pandemic under control but mocking the president won't help.

"I don't think that we want to, in this time, mock him even though he's mocked others," said Sharpton, whose civil rights activism spans decades, and is president of the National Action Network and the host of PoliticsNation on MSNBC.

"We don't want to become like those we criticize," he told The Current's Matt Galloway.

"Rather than doing an 'I told you so,' I hope that we can make some real things move forward, now that it has hit home to him."

The president confirmed that he and his wifeMelania Trumphad tested positive for the virus in a tweet in the early hours of Friday. The White House said his symptoms are "mild," but did not elaborate on what symptoms he is experiencing.

Global reaction ranged from sympathy to satire and mockery, driven by Trump's controversial response to the pandemic in the U.S.

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Sharpton said he spoke to the president over the summer, and asked him to consider the pandemic's impact on the most vulnerable.

He said he told the president "you ought to test the homeless and the incarcerated. They can't social distance. They can't get health care. Please look out for the most vulnerable."

"He says: 'Well, Al, I hear you. I'm not going to make any commitment.'"

Sharpton said the president's positive diagnosis should show him "the seriousness of this pandemic," particularly for "those that don't have the health experts and the medical care that he has."

"I hope he thinks about this now that he's been tested, and I hope they will come with a second stimulus bill for people that can't make ends meet," he said.

Sharpton said his prayers are with the president and the first lady for a speedy recovery.

U.S. in a 'precarious place,' Sharpton says

The 74-year-old president's COVID-19 diagnosis comes just over a month before the November presidential election, adding another layer of uncertainty to the political climate in the U.S. uncertainty Sharpton worries about.

He has known Trump for years, and said that from watching him up close, he's learned how much of a narcissist and racist the president is.

Just this week, during the presidential debate, Trump refused to denounce white supremacy until he was "harangued by the media," Sharpton said.

"Do we really want a president that you have to force them to denounce white supremacy and the Proud Boys?"

For decades, Sharpton has also been on the front lines of some of the most tense fights for racial and social justice. Now, in the run up to election night and in the wake of George Floyd's death, the U.S. is in a "precarious place," said Sharpton, author of the new bookRise Up: Confronting a Country at the Crossroads.

"I think it ignited a reaction we hadn't seen because there were no distractions, no sports, no ball games," Sharpton said.

"Everyone [was] focused on the news and they kept seeing this. And people said, 'Oh no, this is not the kind of world we need to live in.'"

Sharpton said the movement that has followed Floyd's death is different than anything he has witnessed before.

I was a kid in the '60s, but I started in the movement at 13, and I've seen the civil rights movement go up and down. I've not seen it have this kind of support.- Rev. Al Sharpton

"I've seen more whites and others march with us, protest with us, than I've seen in my experience," he said.

"I was a kid in the '60s, but I started in the movement at 13, and I've seen the civil rights movement go up and down. I've not seen it have this kind of support."

Sharpton said he got into the civil rights movement because he believes all people are equal. But it's his faith that kept him going, even after being attacked and arrested during marches and protests in the past.

"I'm still on the front line because of my faith," he said. "I believe in good times or bad times, we're born to serve a purpose. And I'm part of that purpose."

And at this pivotal moment in the U.S., long after the rallies and demonstrations end, Sharpton said, the country must move forward to change legislation.

"That's what Dr. King and John Lewis and them got done in the '60s they changed the laws. And that's what we must do now," he said. "Otherwise, it would just be another moment of promise that we didn't live up to."

"We owe that to George."

Written by PadraigMoran and Kirsten Fenn, with files from CBC News. Produced by Howard Goldenthal.