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Trump Blasts Civil Rights Icon John Lewis On Twitter, Says He’s ‘All Talk, No Action’

By Tito Ojo-Medubi
Published on: 23:34 PST, Jan 14, 2017

The president-elect lashed out on Twitter against Democrat John Lewis after the congressman said he did not believe Donald Trump was a “legitimate president.”

The civil rights icon in an exclusive interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press on Friday said he doubted the legitimacy of the future president in the wake of U.S. intelligence reports which claimed Russia had launched cyber-attacks against America in a bid to influence the November elections.

“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 president-elect as a legitimate president…I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected, and they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton…You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong.”

According to Politico, his statement irked the Manhattan billionaire who took to Twitter to blast the congressman, telling him it would be better if he concentrated 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.” The 70-year-old president-elect slammed the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 5th Congressional district as “all talk, talk, talk-no action or results.”

On Wednesday, Trump had publicly admitted that Russia interfered with the elections, but argued it did little to predict the voting outcome. The 76-year-old congressman also revealed to NBC News that he would not be attending the presidential inauguration for the first time in thirty years.

The congressman is not the only one who has signified his intention not to attend the inauguration billed to hold Friday. Other Democrats who have revealed that they would boycott the event include Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, Barbara Lee of California, Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon.

Congressman Lewis’ Atlanta metropolitan district includes historically black colleges like Spelman and Morehouse as well as many black communities. Politician and lawyer, Jason Carter, grandson of past President Jimmy Carter responding to Mr. Trump’s claims that Atlanta was in terrible shape called it the home to “giants of American business, innovation and education.” Others have cited wealthy places like Buckhead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the world’s busiest airport and the Georgia Institute of Technology as pointers that Trump’s characterization is flawed.

According to an FBI report, Atlanta is No. 14 in terms of violent crimes in America. But overall crime has been down, state police statistics have revealed. The Georgia Democratic Party in a statement defended Lewis, saying that it was saddening that Trump would prefer to trash a civil rights hero and praise Russia’s leader.

“Beyond these vulgar attacks, it is disheartening that Trump would rather sing the praises of Vladimir Putin than Georgia’s own living social justice legend and civil rights icon.”

The comments did not sit well with Democratic lawmakers, especially as it was coming on the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Lewis was a top organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. His relentless fight against racial segregation and as an original Freedom Rider is well-documented.

The civil rights hero was brutally beaten during a civil rights march in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. The son of Southern sharecroppers, he was arrested and jailed repeatedly as he fought with others for racial equality. Political pundits believe that Trump’s latest action of attacking anyone that criticizes him could even make members of his own party not attend his swearing-in.

The New York Daily News is reporting that Trump’s tweets have facilitated a rise in Lewis’ books, including his biography Walking with the Wind: a Memoir of the Movement as well as March, a three-volume novel hat documented major events of the civil rights movement.

Despite the Twitter storm that he generated with his initial tweets, Mr. Trump still tweeted shortly after 7 p.m. asking the Congressman to “focus on the burning and crime infested inner-cities of the U.S.” because he needed all the help that he could get when he became president.

Mr. Lewis was elected into Congress in 1986 and was part of the sit-in on the House Floor as Democrats fought for gun safety legislation following the Orlando nightclub shooting last year. Last week, Lewis testified against Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. Sessions was once passed over for a federal judgeship because of a purported history of racist comments. Lewis in his testimony had revealed that America needed “someone as attorney general who’s going to look out for all of us, and not just some of us.”

[Featured Image by J. Scott Applewhite/AP Images]

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