This item has been updated and corrected.
In an interview aired by NBC news on its Sunday “Meet the Press” show, congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis said of Donald Trump, “I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president” due to alleged Russian hacks that resulted in the release of internal emails of the Democratic National Committee.
“I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected,” said Lewis, announcing that he would not take part to the inauguration for the first time since his election to congress. “It’s going to be very hard, very difficult for me” to work with Trump.
True to character, Trump responded to Lewis on Twitter, saying he should stop complaining about the election results, and “focus on the burning and crime infested inner-cities of the U.S. I can use all the help I can get!” Also true to form, other elected officials threw their support behind Lewis, following his lead to say, they, too, would boycott Trump’s inauguration.
Here is a running list of those who say they won’t attend:
Luis Gutiérrez, Democrat, Illinois
Gutiérrez announced in December he would skip the inauguration. He plans to instead attend the Women’s March planned for Jan. 21.
“I could not look at my wife, my daughters or my grandson in the eye if I sat there and attended as if everything that candidate Donald Trump had said about The women, about The Latinos, or The Blacks, The Muslims or any of the other things he said in his speeches and Tweets – that any of that is OK or erased from my memory,” the congressman wrote on his site.
Raul Grijalva, Democrat, Arizona
Grijalva said he, too, will skip the inauguration “as an individual act, yes, of defiance at the disrespect shown to millions and millions of Americans by this incoming administration.”
Nydia Velazquez, Democrat, New York
Like Gutiérrez, Velazquez will forgo the inauguration in favor of the march of Jan. 21.
I will not be attending inauguration of @realDonaldTrump but WILL participate in the @womensmarch on January 21st. https://t.co/tlqS26ulj7
— Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez) January 9, 2017
Adriano Espaillat, Democrat, New York
The first formerly undocumented immigrant to be elected to Congress, Espaillat said on his Facebook page that he would not be attending the inauguration. “Donald Trump and the hate-filled rhetoric that plagued his election simply will continue in his administration,” he wrote.
Barbara Lee, Democrat, California
“I will not be celebrating or honoring an incoming president who rode racism, sexism, xenophobia and bigotry to the White House,” Lee wrote in a press release published Jan. 12. “On Inauguration Day, I will not be celebrating. I will be organizing and preparing for resistance,” she added.
Katherine Clark, Democrat, Massachusetts
On Jan. 5, Clark announced her decision not to attend the inauguration. She said despite her respect for the office of the president, she didn’t find Trump’s conduct post the election to be in line with his promise to be a president for all Americans. “After discussions with hundreds of my constituents,” said Clark, “I do not feel that I can contribute to the normalization of the president-elect’s divisive rhetoric by participating in the inauguration.”
Jared Huffman, Democrat, California
“I do accept the election results and support the peaceful transfer of power, but it is abundantly clear to me that with Donald Trump as our President, the United States is entering a dark and very dangerous political chapter,” Huffman wrote on Facebook on Jan. 7, announcing his decision not to attend the inauguration. “I will do everything I can to limit the damage and the duration of this chapter, and I believe we can get through it. But I will not sit passively and politely applaud as it begins,” he explained.
Mark deSaulnier, Democrat, California
With a video message posted on Twitter, congressman deSaulnier explained he finalized his decision as he has failed to see in Trump “a belief in common American decency and a respect of law.”
When #Trump places his hand on the Bible & takes the Oath of Office, he will in that moment, be in violation of that oath & the Constitution pic.twitter.com/mZCQrTua4R
— Mark DeSaulnier (@RepDeSaulnier) January 14, 2017
It is with a heavy heart and deep personal conviction that I have decided not to attend the #TrumpInauguration on January 20, 2017.
— Mark DeSaulnier (@RepDeSaulnier) January 14, 2017
Yvette Clarke, Democrat, New York
In solidarity with Lewis, Clarke announced on Jan. 14 that she, too, will skip the inauguration.
I will NOT attend the inauguration of @realDonaldTrump. When you insult @repjohnlewis, you insult America.
— @repyvetteclarke.bsky.social (@RepYvetteClarke) January 14, 2017
Mark Takano, Democrat, California
Takano shared his decision on Twitter on Jan. 14 as a display of support for Lewis.
"All talk, no action."
I stand with @repjohnlewis and I will not be attending the inauguration. pic.twitter.com/z8Q0wA9OPK
— Mark Takano (@RepMarkTakano) January 14, 2017
Ted Lieu, Democrat, California
“While I do not dispute that Trump won the Electoral College, I cannot normalize his behavior or the disparaging and un-American statements he has made,” Lieu wrote in a statement published on Jan. 14, listing Trump’s remarks against Lewis as well as gold star parent Khizr Khan and veteran John McCain.
“I can only hope that Trump will govern differently than he has campaigned. For me, the personal decision not to attend Inauguration is quite simple: Do I stand with Donald Trump, or do I stand with John Lewis? I am standing with John Lewis,” Lieu wrote.
I never ever contemplated attending the inauguration or any activities associated w/ @realDonaldTrump. I wouldn't waste my time.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) January 15, 2017
John Conyers, Democrat, Michigan
According to CNN, Conyers has confirmed his intention to not attend the inauguration ceremony.
Kurt Schrader, Democrat, Oregon
While he will be up for collaborating with Trump when he is making right decisions for Americans, Schrader cited the weather in his decision not to attend the inauguration. “I respectfully decline to freeze my ass out there in the cold for this particular ceremony,” he said. The weather in DC is forecast to be rainy and a relatively warm 52 degrees Fahrenheit.
Earl Blumenauer, Democrat, Oregon
“Here is a person who ran a campaign that is the antithesis of everything I’ve worked for in public service,” Blumenauer said of Trump, saying for the first time in two decades he won’t attend the inauguration as it wouldn’t be a “productive use of my time.”
Peter DeFazio, Democrat, Oregon
DeFazio, too, won’t attend the ceremony, although not because Trump was elected. Avoiding “pomp and circumstance events in Washington,” is typical for him, he declared.
William Lacy Clay, Democrat, Missouri
Though Clay has told the St. Louis Post that he plans to give president Trump a chance if his decisions “are in the best interest of my constituents in St. Louis, and working families across this country,” he announced on Jan. 13 through a spokesperson that he will not go to Washington, DC, for the inauguration, instead spending the day speaking with school kids in his district.
José Serrano, Democrat, New York
Serrano, who represents the Bronx, announced his decision to not attend the inauguration on Twitter, saying Trump doesn’t respect his constituency.
I will not attend the #inauguration2017 next week- cannot celebrate the inauguration of a man who has no regard for my constituents. #Bronx pic.twitter.com/Uz3NTgXl35
— Rep Jose E. Serrano (@RepJoseSerrano) January 12, 2017
Correction: John Lewis is a representative, not a senator.
