Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Sunday praised Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) for his role in the Civil Rights Movement, but said he disagrees with Lewis’s view that President-elect Donald Trump is not a “legitimate president.”
“I have tremendous admiration for Congressman Lewis, not only for what he’s done but what he stands for,” said Rubio, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times.
“I don’t agree with him that President-elect Trump is illegitimate. I also don’t agree with his decision not to attend the inaugural, though it certainly is his right. It’s not about President-elect Trump – it’s a peaceful transfer of power.”
Trump criticized Lewis over the weekend, calling the congressman “all talk” and “no action” after Lewis said he would not attend the Jan. 20 inauguration and did not see Trump as a “legitimate president.”
Rubio, who took the stage Monday at an event commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. where Lewis was the keynote speaker, said he “hoped that the president-elect would have responded differently” to the criticism from the well-known congressman.
Since the weekend back-and-forth, several more Democrats have said they’ll skip Friday’s events.