Trump’s criticism of civil rights icon Lewis backfires

Donald Trump did it again. He called John Lewis, civil rights icon and Democratic congressman ‘all talk and no action.’ The Republican billionaire response came a day after John Lewis described Trump as an illegitimate president. Lewis, like many other Democratic lawmakers, vowed to give Trump’s swearing-in a miss.
Trump blasted Lewis saying that he should instead clean his own backyard. The president-elect tweeted that Lewis “should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in bad shape, crime infested and falling apart rather than raising questions over presidential elections results.
US intelligence agencies have accused Russia of meddling in presidential elections that helped Trump win. Trump called it a political witch-hunt and refused to accept the intelligence agencies’ findings. After weeks of having stood his ground, Trump finally acknowledged for the first time that Russia was responsible for hacking
e-mail accounts of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman. But he emphasized that there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election including the fact that there was no tampering whatsoever with voting machines. President Barack Obama hit Russian intelligence officials and agencies with sanctions for cyber-attacks aimed at tilting results in Trump’s favour. Obama expelled 35 Russian operatives from the US on December 30.
Now a report emerged that president-elect national security adviser Michael Flynn and Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the US, have been in frequent contact in recent weeks, including on the day the Obama administration hit Moscow with sanctions. After initially denying that Michael Flynn and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak spoke on December 29, a Trump official accepted that transition team was aware of one call on the day President Barack Obama imposed sanctions.
Flynn’s contact with the Russian ambassador suggests the incoming administration has already begun to lay the groundwork for its promised closer relationship with Moscow. That effort appears to be moving ahead despite outrage over hacking operation to benefit Trump.
Flynn’s own ties with Russia have raised eyebrows of some Republicans, who are more skeptical of the Kremlin than Trump appears to be. After leaving his position as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, Flynn made appearances on RT, a state-run Russian television network. In 2015, he was paid to attend an RT gala in Moscow, where he sat next to Putin.
Trump’s Lewis criticism highlights the president-elect’s willingness to attack any and all political rivals even with his inauguration less than a week away. Trump’s response was in line with his aggressive style throughout his unorthodox campaign in which he found political success even while attacking widely lauded figures— a prisoner of war, parents of a slain US soldier, and a beauty queen, among others.
Lewis is among the most revered leaders of the civil rights movement and devoted his life to promoting equal rights for African-Americans. He suffered a fractured skull while leading the march in Selma, Alabama more than a half century ago.
Trump’s response was way too much. The former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, who is African- American, called it unnecessary and unfortunate. “John Lewis has a walk that very few people in this country — least of all Donald Trump — has ever walked. So you have to respect that and pay attention to that in a real sense,” Steele said.
The clash shines harsh light on the sharp contrast between how many African-Americans view Trump’s inauguration compared with that of Barack Obama. Also, president-elect declaration that Lewis’ district is ‘falling apart’ and ‘crime infested’ is hard to back up with facts.