A war of words between President-elect Donald Trump and civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., is one of the many reasons why more than 50 Democratic lawmakers say they will boycott the upcoming inauguration.
The fight began when Lewis told NBC News he didn’t believe Trump was a legitimate president because of interference by the Russians.
Trump then went on Twitter to say Lewis should focus on his district, and that he was “all talk, talk talk — no action or results. Sad!”
Some have cited Trump’s comments to Lewis, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., as reason to not attend the inauguration. Others had said they would skip the ceremony prior to the comments, citing Trump’s past comments about women, illegal immigrants, Muslims or the LGBT community.
“For me, the personal decision not to attend [the] inauguration is quite simple: Do I stand with Donald Trump, or do I stand with John Lewis? I am standing with John Lewis,” said Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said in a statement Saturday, also citing other Trump comments as “un-American.”
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., was one of the first congressmen to say he would not attend the inauguration.
“I could not look my wife, my daughters, or my grandson in the eye if I sat there and attended, as if everything that the candidate said about the women, the Latinos, the blacks, the Muslims, or any of those other things he said in those speeches and tweets, and that all of that is okay or erased from our collective memory,” he said on the House floor in December. Gutierrez will instead attend the Women’s March on Washington.
Castro won’t attend the inaguration because “[w]innnign an election does not mean a man can show contempt for millions,” the Texas Democrat said in a statement.
According to their own statements and various news reports, here is a list of Congress men and women who will be skipping Friday’s festivities.
- Alma Adams, North Carolina
- Karen Bass, California
- Don Beyer, Virginia
- Earl Blumenauer, Oregon
- Brendan Boyle, Pennsylvania
- Robert Brady, Pennsylvania
- Anthony Brown, Maryland
- G.K. Butterfield, North Carolina
- Tony Cárdenas, California
- Joaquin Castro, Texas
- Judy Chu, California
- Katherine Clark, Massachusetts
- Yvette Clarke, New York
- Lacy Clay, Missouri
- Steve Cohen, Tennessee
- Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey
- John Conyers, Michigan
- Peter DeFazio, Oregon
- Mark DeSaulnier, California
- Llloyd Doggett,Texas
- Mike Doyle, Pennsylvania
- Keith Ellison, Minnesota
- Adriano Espaillat, New York
- Dwight Evans, Pennsylvania
- Marcia Fudge, Ohio
- Ruben Gallego, Arizona
- Al Green, Texas
- Raúl Grijalva, Arizona
- Luis Gutiérrez, Illinois
- Alcee Hastings, Florida
- Jared Huffman, California
- Pramila Jayapal, Washington
- Barbara Lee, California
- John Lewis, Georgia
- Ted Lieu, California
- Dan Lipinski, Illinois
- Zoe Lofgren, California
- Jerry McNerney, California
- Jerry Nadler, New York
- Grace Napolitano, California
- Donald Payne Jr., New Jersey
- Chellie Pingree, Maine
- Mark Pocan, Wisconsin
- Mike Quigley, Illinois
- Jamie Raskin, Maryland
- Lucille Roybal-Allard, California
- Raul Ruiz, California
- Kurt Schrader, Oregon
- José Serrano, New York
- Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire
- Louise Slaughter, New York
- Adam Smith, Washington
- Darren Soto, Florida
- Mark Takano, New York
- Bennie Thompson, Mississippi
- Juan Vargas, California
- Nydia Velázquez, New York
- Maxine Waters, California
- Frederica Wilson, Florida
- John Yarmuth, Kentucky
This list will be updated as applicable.
After reading classified Russian hacking doc & @realDonaldTrump offensive tweets to @repjohnlewis I will not be attending the Inauguration. pic.twitter.com/wrEeGfqjrZ
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) January 15, 2017
I will NOT attend the inauguration of @realDonaldTrump. When you insult @repjohnlewis, you insult America.
— Yvette D. Clarke (@RepYvetteClarke) January 14, 2017
Announced @ Mason Temple, #MLK final speech, that I won’t attend #inauguration out of respect for @repjohnlewis & for unpresidential remarks
— Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) January 16, 2017
I will not celebrate a man who preaches a politics of division and hate. I won’t be attending Donald Trump’s inauguration.
— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) January 16, 2017
Today I released the following statement about the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/gJsFkO55Me
— Alma S. Adams (@RepAdams) January 17, 2017
After receiving an overwhelming response on the twitter poll, I’ve decided not to attend the inauguration of President-elect Trump. pic.twitter.com/ig4kFn0GGH
— Congressmember Bass (@RepKarenBass) January 17, 2017
After prayerful consideration, I cannot in good conscious attend the inaugural ceremony for President-elect Donald Trump. (1/3)
— G. K. Butterfield (@GKButterfield) January 17, 2017
I’m going to #StandWithJohnLewis. I won’t attend the Inauguration on Friday.
— Mike Doyle (@USRepMikeDoyle) January 17, 2017
