Donald Trump’s feud with John Lewis has largely swallowed MLK weekend, so we’ll dig through more updates. First up, Lewis paid a visit to Meet the Press to discuss his belief that Trump’s not a “legitimate president” in light of Russian hacking. Chuck Todd asked Lewis if he’d invite Trump to visit Selma, Alabama — where Lewis was beaten by police during nonviolent civil rights protests on Bloody Sunday in 1965 — and Lewis responded:
Todd: “Would you take him to Selma?”
Lewis: “Well, by going to Selma, like President Bush, President Clinton, President Obama, maybe he would learn something. Maybe he would get religion.”
Todd: “So, you would bring him? You would do that for him, if he asked?”
Lewis: “I would not invite him to come.”
Todd: “But if he asked to come, would you let him?”
Lewis: “I wouldn’t try do anything to prevent him from coming.”
Lewis’ answers arrived before Trump’s transition team communicated that he’s no longer expected to visit (due to a “scheduling conflict”) the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture on MLK Day.
Yet Lewis is well aware of how Trump spent Saturday morning trashing him on Twitter by calling him “all talk, talk, talk – no action or results.” Trump tweeted this without a trace of irony, for he must not be aware that Lewis marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. On Saturday, Lewis fired back against Trump in a DNC fundraising email:
“Today Donald Trump attacked me on Twitter. He said that I’m ‘all talk’ and ‘no action.’
“I’ve been beaten bloody, tear-gassed, fighting for what’s right for America. I’ve marched at Selma with Dr. King. Sometimes that’s what it takes to move our country in the right direction.”
John Lewis hitting Donald Trump back in fundraising email: "I've been beaten bloody, tear-gassed…We refuse to stop now. We're not done…" pic.twitter.com/wVyPfY1h09
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) January 14, 2017
Meanwhile, Trump continues to bash Lewis on Twitter. The president-elect thinks Lewis should stop talking and “finally focus on the burning and crime infested inner-cities of the U.S. I can use all the help I can get!”
Congressman John Lewis should finally focus on the burning and crime infested inner-cities of the U.S. I can use all the help I can get!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2017
Trump added, “For many years our country has been divided, angry and untrusting. Many say … the hatred is too deep. IT WILL CHANGE!!!!”
For many years our country has been divided, angry and untrusting. Many say it will never change, the hatred is too deep. IT WILL CHANGE!!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2017
This continuing Trump tirade follows his campaign claims that African American communities couldn’t be in worse shape (duh, slavery). He then appointed Ben Carson to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but some folks aren’t taking Carson’s presence seriously, especially after word that Steve Harvey will aid the cause. And of course, Trump shouted last year that only he could save the inner cities from themselves.
One silver lining — Trump’s bashing of Lewis may have contributed to Lewis’ current domination of Amazon sales lists. This weekend, Lewis’ memoir and a biography of him occupy the two top Bestseller slots on the retail site.