President Trump ridiculed former President Barack Obama’s eulogy of the late Rep. John Lewis, claiming his predecessor used the platform for political gain.
“I thought it was a terrible speech. It was an angry speech. It showed there’s anger there that people don’t see,” the president said on Fox & Friends on Wednesday after he was asked about the eulogy. “He lost control, and he’s been really hit very hard by both sides for that speech. That speech was ridiculous. … I thought that speech was totally inappropriate, very bad.”
Obama touched on several political themes during his remarks in Atlanta, including voting rights.
The former president urged Congress to update the Voting Rights Act and name it in Lewis’s honor. The issue of voting has become a major topic in recent weeks as some states have sought to mail ballots to all eligible voters because of the coronavirus. Trump and other Republicans have raised concerns that the election will be fraught with corruption.
Obama also compared the recent use of force against protesters and rioters by federal law enforcement officials to the brutal tactics employed by segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace against civil rights activists in the 1960s.
“I thought the speech the other day at the funeral was a terrible, terrible representation of what our country is all about. I thought it was absolutely terrible,” Trump said.
In an earlier interview, Trump demurred when asked about the legacy of Lewis, who was a longtime civil rights leader.
“He chose not to come to my inauguration. I never met John Lewis actually, I don’t believe,” Trump told Axios. Trump also declined to say if he believes Lewis was an impressive figure. “I can’t say one way or the other. I find a lot of people impressive. I find a lot of people not impressive,” he said.
