Pence: Lewis comments on Trump ‘deeply disappointing’

Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Sunday defended Donald Trump after the president-elect criticized Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) for saying he didn’t think Trump was a “legitimate president.”

“I was deeply disappointed to see someone of his stature question the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s election as president and say he’s not attending the inauguration,” Pence said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“I hope he reconsiders both positions.”

{mosads}Pence said he had great respect for the Georgia Democrat, but noted there is no question about the legitimacy of the presidential election. He said the American people should now be celebrating the transition of power.

Lewis was a key civil rights leader in the 1960s as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was frequently arrested and beaten by police officers at protests, including on “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Ala., in 1965.

Trump on Saturday targeted Lewis after the Democrat questioned the president-elect’s legitimacy and said he wouldn’t be attending the inauguration.

“I believe in forgiveness. I believe in trying to work with people. It will be hard. It’s going to be very difficult. I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president,” Lewis said in an interview with NBC on Friday.

“I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton,” he added.

Trump hit back, accusing Lewis of not doing enough for his district and delivering “no action or result.”

Pence said the president-elect has “the right to defend himself” when he is attacked by someone of Lewis’s stature.