In a recent interview, Donald J. Trump was clearly deep in his feelings after declining to comment on the legacy of the late Rep. John Lewis. Apparently it was because Lewis refused to show up for his inauguration back in 2017.
It all started when Axios’ Jonathan Swan asked Trump how he thinks history will remember the civil rights hero.
“I don’t know,” Trump said. “I really don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know John Lewis. He chose not to come to my inauguration…I don’t, I never met John Lewis, actually, I don’t believe.”
.@jonathanvswan: “How do you think history will remember John Lewis?”President Trump to #AxiosOnHBO: “I don’t know…I don’t know John Lewis. He chose not to come to my inauguration.” pic.twitter.com/LDv76rrIFc
— Axios (@axios) August 4, 2020
So, Swan followed up by asking Trump if he thought Lewis was impressive. Trump also brushed that question aside.
“Uh, I can’t say one way or the other. I find a lot of people impressive. I find many people not impressive,” he said.
“He didn’t come to my inauguration. He didn’t come to my State of the Union Speeches, and that’s okay, that’s his right. And again, nobody has done more for Black Americans than I have,” Trump added. “He should have come. I think he made a big mistake. I think he should have come.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 27: The flag-draped casket of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) is placed on the catafalque by a joint services military honor guard where it will lie is state in the Capitol Rotunda on July 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. Lewis, a civil rights icon and fierce advocate of voting rights for African Americans, will lie in state at the Capitol. Lewis died on July 17 at the age of 80. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite – Pool/Getty Images)
Swan refused to let up, asking, “But taking your relationship with him out of it, do you find his story impressive, what he’s done for this country?”
Trump still refused to give Lewis credit where credit is due, conceding, “He was a person that devoted a lot of energy and a lot of heart to civil rights, but there were many others also.”
You can watch Trump’s full interview with Axios below.
The post ‘I Don’t Know John Lewis,’ Trump Snubs Civil Rights Icon For Skipping 2017 Inauguration appeared first on Essence.
