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Dem senator says Lewis's comments on Trump were 'uncalled for'

By Rebecca Savransky - 01/15/17 11:11 AM EST
 
Dem senator says Lewis's comments on Trump were 'uncalled for'

Sen. Joe ManchinJoseph (Joe) ManchinSenate Democrats vote to provide 0 unemployment benefits into September Senate GOP gets short-lived win on unemployment fight McConnell makes failed bid to adjourn Senate after hours-long delay MORE (D-W.Va.) on Sunday said he respects Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), but criticized the Georgia Democrat for saying he doesn't think President-elect Donald TrumpDonald TrumpTrump announces new tranche of endorsements DeSantis, Pence tied in 2024 Republican poll Lawmakers demand changes after National Guard troops at Capitol sickened from tainted food MORE is a "legitimate president."

"I've got the utmost respect for Congressman Lewis, he's an icon, if you will, and we all have the most respect for him," Manchin said on CBS's "Face The Nation."
 
"I just think that was uncalled for. I just wish that rhetoric would tone down from both back and forth."
 
Manchin said Russian President Vladimir Putin will succeed if he sees "this bickering going on back and forth."
 
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"That's what we have to stop," Manchin said.
 
"We're bigger than this, and we're going to show them we're not going to change and not going to alter how we work and function as Congress, as a government and the United States of America."
 
Manchin called this type of rhetoric "non-productive."

Lewis was a key civil rights leader in the 1960s as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was frequently arrested and beaten by police officers at protests, including on “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Ala., in 1965.

Trump on Saturday targeted Lewis after the Democrat questioned the president-elect's legitimacy.

"I believe in forgiveness. I believe in trying to work with people. It will be hard. It's going to be very difficult. I don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president,” Lewis said in an interview with NBC on Friday.

“I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton,” he added.

Trump hit back, accusing Lewis of not doing enough for his district and delivering "no action or result."

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