Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.) took to Twitter late Friday to lobby one of his "heroes" into attending President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next Friday.
Democratic Rep. John Lewis (Ga.) — a key civil rights figure — expressed his concern over the legitimacy of Trump's presidency during an interview with "Meet the Press" set to air on Sunday. During that same interview, Lewis said that he would not be attending Trump's inauguration because of the circumstances surrounding Trump's election victory late last year.
So far, nearly a dozen Democratic congressmen and women have pledged not to attend Trump's inauguration. But Sasse wants Lewis to put aside his differences with Trump and be a part of America's transition of power — a sacred part of any democracy or republic.
"To John Lewis, one of my heroes: Please come to the Inauguration," Sasse wrote. "It isn't about a man. It is a celebration of peaceful transfer of power."
Sasse later took to Twitter early Saturday to rebuke Trump for criticizing Lewis.
Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday that Lewis should "spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart" rather than "complaining" about the election results.
But those comments, according to Sasse, went too far. So Sasse responded to Trump on Twitter by informing him that Lewis' "talk" changed the world.
"John Lewis and his "talk" have changed the world," Sasse wrote, linking to a gallery of pictures from the clashes between police and civil rights protesters in Selma in 1965, which Lewis was part of.
So far, it appears Sasse is the only Republican to denounce Trump's negative comments to Lewis.
