President Donald Trump on Wednesday slammed former President Barack Obama’s eulogy of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), calling it a “terrible” and “angry” speech after his predecessor made a plea for lawmakers to strengthen voting rights.
“I thought it was a terrible speech. It was an angry speech. It showed this anger there that people don’t see,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends” when asked if he agreed the eulogy “seemed like a campaign speech.”
“He lost control. He’s been really hit very hard by both sides for that speech. That speech was ridiculous,” Trump falsely claimed.
Trump said he felt the eulogy was “totally inappropriate” and spoke at length about how he has undone much of Obama’s agenda.
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Obama eulogized Lewis last week in Atlanta, hailing the late lawmaker as perhaps Martin Luther King Jr.’s “finest disciple” and a “founding father of that of a fuller, fairer, better America.”
Obama was criticized by some conservatives, including prominent Fox News hosts, for using his eulogy of Lewis to call for a restoration of the Voting Rights Act, an end to gerrymandering and the possible end of the Senate filibuster.
Lewis, a civil rights icon who died last month at 80, spent most of his life fighting for expanded voting rights. He was one of the first Freedom Riders and spoke at the March on Washington.
Trump did not attend Lewis’s funeral. Obama, former President George W. Bush and former President Clinton both spoke at the ceremony. Former President Carter did not attend due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump told Axios’s Jonathan Swan in an interview that aired late Monday that the late congressman “made a big mistake” by not attending his inauguration in 2017.
Watch:
Donald Trump says Barack Obama's eulogy for John Lewis was "a terrible speech, it was an angry speech, it showed this anger there that people don't see. He lost control. … That speech was ridiculous." pic.twitter.com/YMRqCZXNKn
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) August 5, 2020
