President-elect Donald Trump was up bright and early on Saturday and immediately hopped on Twitter to attack Georgia Congressman John Lewis (D) after the civil rights hero questioned the legitimacy of his presidency in light of reports of Russian involvement in the election. In a Friday interview on Meet the Press, Lewis claimed that allegations about Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election on Trump’s behalf have stained his presidency and it can’t be erased. “I don’t see the president-elect as a legitimate president,” said Lewis, who was instrumental in organizing the Selma marches in 1965 that led to his arrest and a beating by police. “I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected, and they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.”
After going after Lewis on Twitter, which has understandably angered many who support one of the distinguished heroes of the civil rights movement and a man who has gone on to have a near stellar career in the House of Representatives, Trump turned to talking instead of typing. In an interview with conservative internet portal KnowMyRepublican.com, the President-elect argued that this was a “typical move” and something that was just a “matter of time.” “What else do you expect from someone who called for the escalation of violence more than 50 years ago just so he could rise to fame under the pretense he was trying to help others in the process?” Trump asked. “What blows my mind is that so many across the country actually believe John Lewis is a hero instead of seeing him for the coward he really is.”
“To me it’s obvious that the 1965 Selma protests were nothing more than a young black man’s attempt to get into politics because he had no other way of getting that job,” the president-elect added. “Because, the truth is, no black people were allowed into politics back then. So, Lewis got creative and figured getting himself beaten by state troopers would get him the pity he needed in order to become a politician. And you want to know what the saddest part is? It actually worked. 50-something years later, he’s still hailed as a so-called civil rights hero, when in fact, he should be in jail because many other black people got hurt and died because of him.”
Trump also added, “And now we’re witnessing him doing the exact same thing typical of most black people – he’s attempting to escalate violence in order to remove me from the position of President of the United States and improve his own position in the process, because all of a sudden, the House of Representatives just isn’t enough for him anymore. Essentially, what we’re seeing today is the same man who had given legitimacy to protesters in 1965 doing the exact same thing once again to the protesters of today. Only, nowadays it’s not because ‘black people are being oppressed by white people’ anymore; it’s because Donald Trump won the election fair and square. I’m disgusted by him.”
“And the thing is – in all fairness, I’m not even surprised. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I always figured this day would come, because, after all, he’s nothing more than a black man regardless of the job he’s doing and the career he’s had. And the only thing I’m looking forward to in this case is the fact that he’s in for a huge disappointment, because I’m not going anywhere. I’m not a pushover like the white Georgians of the mid-1960’s. I’m here to stay and make America great again and the way to do that is to stop the BLM, John Lewis, illegal immigration and Muslims and any other non-white factors from attempting to destroy this great country once and for all,” he concluded.
