CLEVELAND (AP) — A black congresswoman from Ohio is skipping Donald Trump’s inauguration this week and voicing support for fellow Democratic Rep. John Lewis after the civil rights icon feuded with the president-elect over the weekend.
Rep. Marcia Fudge tweeted that she plans to be in Cleveland instead of attending the inauguration Friday in Washington. She ended the tweet with the hashtag #IStandWithJohnLewis.
Lewis, who was a leader in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, had questioned the legitimacy of Trump’s victory and blamed the Russians for helping Trump win. The Republican president-elect responded with tweets suggesting that the longtime Georgia congressman “should spend more time on fixing and helping his district.”
As I told @JoyAnnReid, I will not be attending #Inauguration. I will be at home in Cleveland. #IStandWithJohnLewis
— Former Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (@RepMarciaFudge) January 15, 2017
Fudge and Lewis are among a growing number of Democrats in Congress who say they’ll skip the inauguration.
Among the Ohio Republicans attending the inauguration, according to The Columbus Dispatch are Secretary of State Jon Husted, Attorney General Mike DeWine and Gov. John Kasich, a persistent critic of Trump during the campaign who voted for John McCain in November.