Trump assails civil rights icon for questioning win
NEW YORK — Donald Trump tore into civil rights legend John Lewis for questioning the legitimacy of the Republican billionaire’s White House victory, intensifying a feud with the black congressman days before the national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and as the first African American president prepares to leave office.
Trump tweeted Saturday that Rep. Lewis, D-Ga., “should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results.”
The incoming president added: “All talk, talk, talk — no action or results. Sad!”
Lewis, among the most revered leaders of the civil rights movement, suffered a skull fracture during the march in Selma, Ala., more than a half century ago and has devoted his life to promoting equal rights for African Americans.
The weekend clash highlighted the sharp contrast between how many African Americans view Trump’s inauguration compared with Barack Obama’s eight years ago.
It also demonstrated that no one is untouchable for scorn from a president-elect with little tolerance for public criticism. Trump has found political success even while attacking widely lauded figures before and after the campaign — a prisoner of war, parents of a slain U.S. soldier, a beauty queen and now a civil rights icon.
Lewis, a 16-term congressman, said Friday that he will not attend Trump’s swearingin ceremony at the Capitol on Friday. It will mark the first time he skipped an inauguration since joining Congress three decades ago.
“You know, I believe in forgiveness. I believe in trying to work with people. It will be hard. It’s going to be very difficult. I don’t see this presidentelect as a legitimate president,” Lewis said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” set to air Sunday. “I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.”
Lewis’ spokeswoman, Brenda Jones, declined to respond to Trump and said the lawmaker’s “opinion speaks for itself.”
U.S. intelligence agencies have said that Russia, in a campaign ordered by President Vladimir Putin, meddled in the election to help Trump win. After spending weeks challenging that assessment, Trump finally accepted that the Russians were behind the electionyear hacking of Democrats. But he also emphasized that “there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election.”
Lewis’ Democratic colleagues quickly came to his defense Saturday.
“Let us remember that many have tried to silence @repjohnlewis over the years. All have failed,” tweeted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco.