Rep. John Lewis says what we're all thinking: Trump is not legitimate

In this clip from an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd, which will air in its entirety on Meet the Press, Rep. John Lewis said, like his Congressional colleague Rep. Barbara Lee, he will boycott Donald Trump’s inauguration.

“I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president,” Lewis said, telling Todd he believes that Russian interference in the election undermined the democratic process. “I don’t plan to attend the inauguration. It will be the first one that I miss since I’ve been in the Congress. You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong.”

Watch:

TODD: You have forged relationships with many presidents. Do you plan on trying to forge a relationship with Donald Trump?

LEWIS: No, I believe in forgiveness; I believe in trying to work with people. It’s going to be hard; it’s going to be very difficult. I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president.

TODD: You do not consider him a legitimate president? Why is that?

LEWIS: I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. I don’t plan to attend the inauguration. It will be the first one that I miss since I’ve been in the Congress. You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong.

TODD: That’s going to send a big message to a lot of people in this country, that you don’t believe he’s a legitimate president.

LEWIS: I think there was a conspiracy on the part of the Russians and others, to help him get elected. That’s not right. That’s not fair. That’s not the open democratic process.

Lewis has been one of the most prominent Democratic resisters of the normalization of Trump and his incoming administration, including and especially Attorney General-designate Senator Jeff Sessions. His willingness to state plainly his position on the illegitimacy of Trump’s presidency will undoubtedly be welcome validation for many like-minded people across the nation.

It is certainly welcome to me.