In the President’s exclusive interview with Axios, Donald Trump suggested that he’s done more for Black Americans than Civil Rights icon John Lewis. Trump was asked about the late Congressman during the interview and whether or not he found Lewis “impressive.”
“I find a lot of people impressive, I find a lot of people not impressive…nobody has done more for Black Americans than I have,” Trump told Axios’ Jonathan Swan. The president repeatedly took shots at Lewis for not attending his inauguration or his State of the Union speeches saying the Georgia House Rep. made a “big mistake” by not attending.
Trump has for a long time claimed that he has done more for Black Americans than any other president, but in this interview Trump seems to take a step further omitting the word “president” from that sentiment.
Trump has repeatedly struggled to set aside personal issues when speaking about a deceased rival. The POTUS has often taken shots at the late Senator John McCain who died in 2018. Trump at different times criticized the Senator for his famous thumbs down vote on the republican healthcare bill that would’ve replaced the Affordable Care Act.
When asked to set aside personal rivalries between he and Lewis, Trump still was unable to praise Lewis’ Civil Rights advocacy. Lewis was famous for delivering the opening speech at the March on Washington. Lewis was also the victim to a brutal attack on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama during a protest for voting rights.
Despite the inability to praise his work, Trump said he would not oppose the renaming of the Edmund Pettus bridge to honor John Lewis.