search
Sections List
American Journal News

Donald Trump kicks off MLK weekend by slandering Civil Rights hero John Lewis

This piece was co-written by Shareblue writers Tommy Christopher and Melissa McEwan. There are many ways President-elect Donald Trump could have responded when Rep. John Lewis publicly stated that he doesn’t regard Trump as a “legitimate” president. Any number of those ways would have been respectful, including silence. But Trump has publicly asserted that winning should inoculate […]

By The American Independent Staff - January 14, 2017
Share
Donald Trump

There are many ways President-elect Donald Trump could have responded when Rep. John Lewis publicly stated that he doesn’t regard Trump as a “legitimate” president. Any number of those ways would have been respectful, including silence.

But Trump has publicly asserted that winning should inoculate him from criticism. So he was never going to be silent. It was just a question of how demeaning and objectionable his reaction would be.

On the Saturday morning before the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, we got the answer to that question:

No matter how one feels about the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency, which will be invesigated at bipartisan request, one ought to respect the point of view of a man like Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who fought and bled for Civil Rights, only to see outside influences meddle in the election on behalf of a candidate who ran an explicit campaign of white nationalism and is now building an administration full of people with ties to white supremacy.

https://twitter.com/Shakestweetz/status/820135403961417729

Every American has the right — and the responsibility — to hold the president to account. That Trump disagrees with this most basic premise of vibrant democracy is itself reason to question the legitimacy of his presidency. A president who does not respect the rights guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be trusted to represent the values of the nation.

Further, for Trump to attack a person of Lewis’ stature and patriotism in this fashion, trying to silence him for any reason, and doing so by barking commands about what he should be doing, is an outrage. To then accuse a man who was nearly killed during the Civil Rights struggle of being “All talk, talk, talk — no action or results!” is an overt erasure of Lewis’ place in America’s history, as well as her present.

Trump then makes a thinly veiled appeal to the racial resentments among his supporters by invoking the specter of crime, wrongly assuming that a Black congressman’s district must be riddled with it.

As a matter of fact, Trump’s characterization of Georgia’s 5th District as “falling apart” doesn’t jibe with the fact that Lewis’ district has a higher high school graduation rate than the national or state averages, and is ranked 97th out of 434 on Gallup-Healthways’ most recent Well-Being Index. Lewis’ district was third among Georgia’s 14 districts in the well-being index. The last-place district is represented by Republican Tom Graves.

Trump’s tweets are further proof of his complete inability to control himself, his tyrannical urge to quash dissent, and the bigotry that has suffused his political career since he appointed himself the de facto head of the birther movement to delegitimize President Obama.

It is a rich irony that Trump, who peddled racist lies in order to try to delegitimize the nation’s first Black president, is now outraged that a Civil Rights Hero would, using facts, state his belief that Trump’s presidency is not legitimate.

In a further irony, Trump’s tirade only serves to heighten the historic contrast between himself and outgoing President Barack Obama, who opened Martin Luther King Jr. weekend by designating three new national monuments honoring Civil Rights history. Meanwhile, Trump marks the occasion by attacking a Civil Rights hero.

https://twitter.com/Shakestweetz/status/820280973594071041


AJ News
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Read More
AJ News
Latest
House Republicans roll out new plan to decimate Medicaid

House Republicans roll out new plan to decimate Medicaid

By Jesse Valentine - April 24, 2025
Trump White House plans to garnish wages of student loan borrowers

Trump White House plans to garnish wages of student loan borrowers

By Jesse Valentine - April 22, 2025
Megadonor embroiled in ethics scandal gave thousands to Winsome Earle-Sears

Megadonor embroiled in ethics scandal gave thousands to Winsome Earle-Sears

By Jesse Valentine - April 21, 2025
“I Was Terrified To Get Pregnant Again After Having to Flee Tennessee for a Life-Saving Abortion”

“I Was Terrified To Get Pregnant Again After Having to Flee Tennessee for a Life-Saving Abortion”

By Bonnie Fuller - April 21, 2025
Goldman Sachs: Trump’s tariffs will lead to job losses

Goldman Sachs: Trump’s tariffs will lead to job losses

By Jesse Valentine - April 17, 2025
Democrats take stand for wrongly deported Maryland man

Democrats take stand for wrongly deported Maryland man

By Jesse Valentine - April 16, 2025
North Carolina law would make it illegal for Democratic AG to sue Trump

North Carolina law would make it illegal for Democratic AG to sue Trump

By Jesse Valentine - April 11, 2025
Older Americans suffer under Republican slash and burn policies

Older Americans suffer under Republican slash and burn policies

By Jesse Valentine - April 09, 2025
Scott Brown got Trump’s tariff plans for New Zealand very wrong

Scott Brown got Trump’s tariff plans for New Zealand very wrong

By Jesse Valentine - April 08, 2025
Trump admin canceled Social Security contracts to punish Maine governor

Trump admin canceled Social Security contracts to punish Maine governor

By Jesse Valentine - April 03, 2025
Senate Republicans vote to eliminate cap on overdraft fees

Senate Republicans vote to eliminate cap on overdraft fees

By Jesse Valentine - April 03, 2025
Forced to carry a dying baby, this Texas mother of four says she didn’t think it could happen to her

Forced to carry a dying baby, this Texas mother of four says she didn’t think it could happen to her

By Bonnie Fuller - March 28, 2025
Despite pleas from women and doctors, Texas may implement even more abortion restrictions

Despite pleas from women and doctors, Texas may implement even more abortion restrictions

By Bonnie Fuller - March 28, 2025
Trump’s antiwar claims don’t hold up in leaked group chat

Trump’s antiwar claims don’t hold up in leaked group chat

By Jesse Valentine - March 28, 2025
Frontline Republican governors cheer on Department of Ed closure

Frontline Republican governors cheer on Department of Ed closure

By Jesse Valentine - March 26, 2025
GOP-led legislatures ramp up abortion restrictions

GOP-led legislatures ramp up abortion restrictions

By Jesse Valentine - March 18, 2025
HHS slashes vaccine research, amplifies misinformation

HHS slashes vaccine research, amplifies misinformation

By Jesse Valentine - March 11, 2025
Senate Republicans scrap consumer protections for payment apps

Senate Republicans scrap consumer protections for payment apps

By Jesse Valentine - March 10, 2025
Rep. Don Bacon admits he voted for Medicaid cuts

Rep. Don Bacon admits he voted for Medicaid cuts

By - February 28, 2025
Trump admin cracks down on affordable weight-loss treatments

Trump admin cracks down on affordable weight-loss treatments

By Jesse Valentine - February 27, 2025
Republican lawmakers are lying about Medicaid fraud

Republican lawmakers are lying about Medicaid fraud

By Jesse Valentine - February 26, 2025
Trump’s education pick: schools may lose funds for teaching Black history

Trump’s education pick: schools may lose funds for teaching Black history

By Jesse Valentine - February 13, 2025