With only three days until Donald Trump is sworn in as the President of the United States, preparations for his inauguration are in full swing. However, it appears that a high amount of democrats are not planning on attending.
So far, over 5o House Democrats have planned to boycott the event in protest of a man they do not deem fit to be president. Reasons have spanned from finding his policies alarming and divisive, to believing foreign interference was responsible for him winning the election.
The number also grew after Trump lashed out at John Lewis on Twitter last Saturday, criticizing that Lewis was apparently all “talk” with little action. This tweet comes despite the fact that Lewis is a civil rights leader who led many protests during the 1960s.
Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2017
mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2017
As for John Lewis himself, he has also expressed in an interview with NBC that he will not attend the inauguration. “I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton,” Lewis said.
Other democrats like Maxime Waters stated on social media she never planned on attending the inauguration and “wouldn’t waste her time”, while Mark Pocan expressed that he originally was going to attend but after rethinking, changed his mind. In his statement on twitter, he explained that “it’s time for Donald Trump to start acting like President Trump, not an immature, undignified reality star with questionable friends and a twitter addiction.”
Congresswoman Alma S. Adams released a statement earlier today to announce she would also join the large amount of people who will not be in attendance at the inauguration. “I cannot in good faith and consciousness pretend to celebrate the inauguration of someone who has spoken so horribly about women, minorities and the disabled.” she wrote on twitter. “Instead, I am staying home to continue working toward our priorities and to meet with constituents, many of who are fearful of what lies ahead.”
