Over the last week, one story that has dominated the news cycle has been civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis refuses to attend the inauguration for Donald Trump. In recent days, Trump has gone on the attack against Lewis on social media, and now is venting in front of the camera.

Trump on Lewis

John Lewis sat down for an interview last Friday with NBC's "Meet the Press." While speaking to host Chuck Todd, Lewis explained that he would not attend the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump, and said that he didn't consider him a "legitimate president" due to recent reports of Russian hacking.

Lewis also noted that it would be the first inauguration that he would ever miss. In response, Trump took to Twitter over the weekend to criticize the civil rights icon, labeling him "all talk" and "sad." During a pre-tapped interview with Fox News that will air on Wednesday, Trump elaborated further on his thoughts on Lewis, as reported by The Hill on January 17.

On Tuesday morning, Donald Trump tweeted out an article from The Washington Examiner that highlighted an apparent contradiction with John Lewis' previous comments.

The story quotes a Washington Post article back in 2001, that showed Lewis boycotting the inauguration of George W. Bush, something Trump was quick to point out on Twitter, and during his interview with Fox News.

"He got caught, and it's pretty bad," Donald Trump told Fox News, in reference to John Lewis' boycott claim.

"He conveniently doesn't remember, how do you forget if you go to an inauguration," Trump said, while noting, "I can tell you, when I was at the inauguration, you don't forget something like that." The billionaire real estate mogul explained that the inauguration was "very important," stating, "President Obama understands that very well, and that's why he's been so gracious."

Donald Trump was then asked about additional Democrats boycotting the inauguration, which totals 50 as of press time, but the former host of "The Apprentice" didn't seem too upset.

"That's okay because we need seats so badly," he said.

Moving forward

While John Lewis and others won't be attending, Donald Trump is now only three days away from being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. However, over 100,000 protesters are expected to be in Washington, D.C. this Friday to voice their opposition, with other demonstrations taking place in New York City, most notably outside Trump Tower led by filmmaker Michael Moore and actor Alec Baldwin.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED