Maine Gov. Paul LePage — known for his unfiltered and often provocative comments — on Tuesday waded into the feud between Rep. John Lewis and President-elect Trump, telling the civil rights icon to thank Republican presidents for ending slavery.
LePage’s comments on WVOM Maine radio’s George Hale and Ric Tyler show come after Lewis told NBC News that Trump was not a “legitimate” president. Trump responded by tweeting that the Georgia Democrat was “all talk, talk, talk – no action or results.”
“How about John Lewis last week?” LePage said on the Bangor-based radio show. “Criticizing the president. You know, I will just say this. John Lewis ought to look at history. It was Abraham Lincoln that freed the slaves. It was Rutherford B. Hayes and Ulysses S. Grant that fought against Jim Crow laws. A simple ‘thank you’ would suffice.”
Grant was president from 1869 to 1877, before the start of Jim Crow. His successor, Hayes, oversaw the end of Reconstruction and thus began the efforts that led to civil rights reform.
Lewis is one of the most recognizable faces of the civil rights movement, working closely with Martin Luther King Jr. to fight Jim Crow laws. He was badly beaten in 1965 in Selma, Alabama during the infamous march to Montgomery. He has said he will skip Trump’s inauguration.
LePage also commented on Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, who announced she would stand with Lewis and skip Friday’s inauguration festivities.
“For some reason, the left has become so hateful and they are trying to bully us out of believing our constitution,” LePage said. “Chellie Pingree, if she won’t attend on Friday, I would advise her to resign.”
