Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, has changed his mind and will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday.
Lowenthal cited Trump’s comments on Twitter about Rep. John Lewis that criticized the Georgia congressman and civil rights icon for saying he did not view Trump as a “legitimate president” because he believed Russians had sabotaged the election.
Since the exchange between the two, multiple Democratic lawmakers in Washington have announced they would skip the inauguration.
“This has been a difficult decision for me as I have the utmost respect for the office of the president and the peaceful transfer of executive power embodied in the inauguration,” Lowenthal said.
“However, President-elect Trump’s recent attacks on Rep. John Lewis were beyond the pale and served as a tipping point, which made me re-evaluate my original intention to attend,” he added.
“John Lewis is nothing short of a true American hero,” Lowenthal said of the activist who was one of the original Freedom Riders, helped organize the March on Washington made famous by Martin Luther King Jr.’s “`I Have a Dream” speech and was beaten during “Bloody Sunday” in the Selma-to-Montgomery marches.
Lewis, Lowenthal added, “bravely put his life on the line, numerous times, all to bend the long arc of history toward a more justice-filled future for all Americans.”
Lowenthal said Trump, “in his attacks on Rep. Lewis, and minorities, and women, and the disabled, has yet done little to earn my respect… I sincerely hope that over the next four years President Trump will work hard to earn the respect of all Americans, not just those who voted for him. The American people deserve it and the office of the president requires it.”
Rep. Mimi Walters, R-Irvine, steered clear of criticizing protesters.
“All members can decide for themselves whether to participate in any inaugural events, including the swearing-in ceremony,” Walters said. “I view the inauguration as a celebration of our democracy and a demonstration of the peaceful transition of power, and I’m excited to be a part of this powerful event.”
–City News Service