Donald Trump said Rep. John Lewis is “wrong” to suggest that the President-elect’s inauguration is the first he will boycott such an event, citing the Georgia congressman also protested the first inauguration of George W. Bush.
“John Lewis said about my inauguration, ‘It will be the first one that I’ve missed.’ WRONG (or lie)! He boycotted Bush 43 also because he thought it would be hypocritical to attend Bush’s swearing-in….he doesn’t believe Bush is the true elected president.’ Sound familiar,” the President-elect wrote in two consecutive tweets on Tuesday.
Lewis’ office acknowledged that Lewis had protested a previous inauguration.
“Rep. Lewis also missed one other inauguration, the first inauguration of President George W. Bush,” a statement from Lewis’ office read. “His absence at that time was also a form of dissent. He did not believe the outcome of that election, including the controversies around the results in Florida and the unprecedented intervention of the US Supreme Court, reflected a free, fair and open democratic process.”
Like Trump, Bush was also elected after failing to win the popular vote. A recount and Supreme Court decision sent him to the White House.
Lewis had said his plans to skip Trump’s inauguration would make it the first inauguration he missed attend since coming to Washington in 1986.
The Georgia Democrat said he doesn’t see Trump as a “legitimate” commander in chief due to intelligence about Russia meddling in the 2016 election.
“I don’t see this President-elect as a legitimate president,” the Georgia Democrat told NBC News’ Chuck Todd. “I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.”