Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has a lot of respect for Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), but he thinks recent comments from the civil rights icon about President-elect Donald Trump go too far.
Lewis said on Friday that Trump is not a “legitimate president,” due to reports of Russian interference in the election. He added that he will not attend Trump’s inauguration, making it the first one he’s missed since his election to Congress in 1986.
“I just think that was uncalled for,” Manchin said on CBS Face The Nation. “I just wish that rhetoric would tone down ― from both back and forth.”
Manchin claims that Russian interference in U.S. democracy will succeed unless the bickering within the government stops.
“We are bigger than this and we are going to show them they are not going to change and not going to alter how we work and function as Congress, as a government, and the United States of America,” Manchin said. “We are not going to let that happen. So for this type of rhetoric it is nonproductive.”
Vice President-elect Mike Pence also said on Sunday that Trump won the election “fair and square.”
“While I have great respect for John Lewis, particularly his contributions to the civil rights movement, I was deeply disappointed to see someone of his stature question the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s election as president and say he’s not attending the inauguration, and I hope he reconsiders both positions,” said Pence on “Fox News Sunday.”
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