Donald Trump is no stranger to picking questionable fights with people after they’ve criticized him. Many thought the president-elect had hit a low point when he decided to take on the Gold Star family of Captain Humayun S. M. Khan after their appearance at the Democratic National Convention, but he may have hit a new low after setting his sights on civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis to kickstart MLK Day weekend.
The president-elect voiced his displeasure with Lewis on Twitter following a preview for an interview with the congressman on Meet The Press claiming Trump was an “illegitimate” president due to his alleged connections to Russia:
Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2017
mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2017
This criticism of Lewis by the incoming president sparked an immediate outrage online and in D.C., with some like Rep. Brendan Boyle and Sen. Ben Sasse admonishing Trump’s for his comments:
.@repjohnlewis is a hero and I'm lucky to call him a colleague. You sir are not half the man he is. @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/f7VwPYQNiz
— US Rep Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) January 14, 2017
John Lewis and his "talk" have changed the world.https://t.co/qeUloAkeTx https://t.co/aH2vDLjKk9
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) January 14, 2017
Many others pointed to Lewis’ actions during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists to combat Trump’s claim that the congressman was “all talk, talk, talk” and no action:
Donald Trump says John Lewis is all talk.
Here's a picture of John Lewis being beaten by a state trooper on "Bloody Sunday" in 1965. pic.twitter.com/yi81OktNhW
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/AdamSerwer/status/820277206215786496
On this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, let it be clear that John Lewis is an American patriot. Trump's attacks on him further confirm it. pic.twitter.com/WavPT36Atu
— Evan McMullin 🇺🇸 (@EvanMcMullin) January 14, 2017
Clearly John Lewis is unfamiliar with Trump's seminal civil rights missive: "Tweet from a Manhattan Penthouse."
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) January 14, 2017
John Lewis has more character and courage than you ever will, unlike you his words and deeds have helped make America great. https://t.co/yLvEekrbLu
— Karen Finney (@finneyk) January 14, 2017
The difference between Donald Trump and John Lewis is that one talked about making America great, while the other actually did. pic.twitter.com/QbngioUXkc
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) January 14, 2017
One thing that brings politicians from both sides of the aisle together—condemning Trump's attack on John Lewis. pic.twitter.com/PzRmKHYPDj
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 14, 2017
There’s also a healthy amount of people who were quick to highlight Trump’s incorrect claims about Lewis’ district in Atlanta:
Regarding a certain someone's tweets about John Lewis and Atlanta's 5 district pic.twitter.com/lKqRvCXntJ
— Atlanta Studies | @ATLstudies@mstdn.social (@ATLStudies) January 14, 2017
By the way, John Lewis represents a majority-black district where 88% of adults have high school diplomas and 41% have college degrees. pic.twitter.com/R17EmvMn8c
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) January 14, 2017
Hardly the most egregious part of the Trump tweet, but Lewis represents the nicest parts of Atlanta. Black congressman does not = slumlord.
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) January 14, 2017
The one thing that does stand out about those that Trump has attacked publicly, either on Twitter or on one of the various stages during his campaign, is where they typically stand within public opinion. As The Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman points out, Trump has managed to attack two members of Congress that people will freely call hero without a thought.
The only 2 legit heroes in US political life – whose stories ring through history -are John Lewis & John McCain. Trump attacked them both. https://t.co/GNlRYvsIfN
— @attackerman.bsky.social (@attackerman) January 14, 2017
And the list extends out further than that since Trump decided to run for president back in 2015, with one absence that sticks out for a lot of people:
https://twitter.com/allenjuka/status/820290039875772416
Rep. Lewis has not commented on the criticism from the president-elect, but he likely doesn’t have to. His record and his supporters have made his case for him.
UPDATE: Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of Rep. Lewis with another tweet following the outrage from earlier:
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