U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday fired back after a Democrat lawmaker said he was an illegitimate president.
On Friday, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) said he would not attend Trump’s inauguration next week because he doesn’t believe Trump is a "legitimate president."
"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,” Lewis was quoted as having told NBC News.
“I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton,” he opined.
“I don't plan to attend the inauguration. It will be the first one that I miss since I’ve been in Congress. You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong, is not right.”
U.S. intelligence determined recently that Russia hacked Democratic computers in order to sabotage Hillary Clinton's candidacy.
Trump initially rejected the CIA’s assessment, insisting that Democrats bitter with the results of the election were inventing excuses for their defeat, but last week his incoming chief of staff said the President-elect accepts the intelligence assessment.
Trump responded to Lewis on Twitter on Saturday, advising him to worry about his own district instead of about Trump’s legitimacy.
“Congressman John Lewis 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. All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!” Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
Lewis has since 1987 represented Georgia’s 5th District, which is predominantly black and includes much of Atlanta and some surrounding suburbs.
Republican Sen. Ben Sasse (NE) later Friday urged Lewis to change his mind, according to The Hill.
Sasse, who never backed Trump’s presidential run, said the inauguration “isn’t about a man. It is a celebration of peaceful transfer of power.”