#boycott Trump’s inauguration

[rejectingrepublicans]

Low ratings Trump. Only you can make it happen. Boycott the inauguration on tv.

[maswartz]

Do NOT attend Trump's inauguration, even to protest or disrupt it. He WILL claim it as a victory and say "See? Even people who hate me are here! BIGGEST CROWD EVER!"

Boycott it. Do not attend Do not watch Do not even talk about it. Talk about it being MLK Day instead.

[lechusza]

It's not my party

Your tax dollars not at work. More than a dozen congressional Democrats plan to sit out President-elect Trump's inauguration. Many more are anxiously grappling with whether to attend, #inaguration #trumppresidency #democrats #boycott #news #politics

[allapprovaloffersandjobs]

2024 US Election Results Live Updates: President Joe Biden meets Trump at White House, both pledge smooth transition

Link Here : https://tinyurl.com/3u8b9tjr

Biden and Xi will meet in Peru as US-China relations tested again by Trump's return

President Joe Biden will hold talks Saturday with China's Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an international summit in Peru, a face-to-face meeting that comes as Beijing braces for Donald Trump's return to the White House. A senior Biden administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement, confirmed plans for the meeting to take place while the two leaders are in Lima for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. That will come just over two months before Trump's inauguration. The official declined to comment on how Biden and his advisers would address questions certain to be raised by Xi and Chinese officials about the incoming Trump administration or whether Biden would discuss the US-China relationship with Trump during the president-elect's visit to the White House on Wednesday. Washington and Beijing have long had deep differences on the support China has given to Russia during its war in Ukraine, human rights issues, technology and Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy that Beijing claims as its own. A second Trump administration is expected to test US-China relations even more than the Republican's first term, when the US imposed tariffs on more than $360 billion in Chinese products. That brought Beijing to the negotiating table, and in 2020, the two sides signed a trade deal in which China committed to improve intellectual property rights and buy an extra $200 billion of American goods. A couple of years later, a research group showed that China had bought essentially none of the goods it had promised. (AP)

00:18 (IST) Nov 14

Melania Trump boycotts tea invitation from Jill Biden while husbands meet

Melania Trump boycotted a meeting with Jill Biden, while their husbands held a traditional meeting at the White House on Wednesday. Two hours before US President-elect Donald Trump and President Joe Biden were to meet, the office of Melania Trump said in an X post, "Mrs Trump will not be attending today's meeting at the White House." "Her husband's return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success," it said. Her office did not give a reason for her not taking up First Lady Jill Biden's invitation for tea. But it added, "In this instance, several unnamed sources in the media continue to provide false, misleading, and inaccurate information. Be discerning with your source of news." It did not specifically deny any of the reports about her not meeting Jill Biden. (IANS)

00:18 (IST) Nov 14

Bitcoin rises above $90,000 on Trump euphoria

Bitcoin broke through the $90,000 level on Wednesday, as its rally showed no signs of easing on expectations that Donald Trump as U.S. president will be a boon for cryptocurrencies. The world's biggest cryptocurrency has become one of the most eye-catching movers in the week since the election and on Wednesday touched record highs. It was last up 5.49% at $93,158, marking a 32% rise since the Nov. 5 election. Smaller peer ether has also risen 37% since election day, while dogecoin, an alternative, volatile token promoted by billionaire Trump-ally Elon Musk was up more than 150%. Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin. (Reuters)

00:17 (IST) Nov 14

'Welcome back': Trump, Biden shake hands in White House

Joe Biden welcomed Donald Trump back to the White House on Wednesday, in a show of civility to a bitter rival who failed to extend him the same courtesy four years ago. The US president and president-elect shook hands in front of a roaring fire in the Oval Office as they pledged a smooth transition -- a stark contrast to Trump's refusal to recognize his 2020 defeat. "Welcome back," Biden, 81, said as he congratulated the 78-year-old Trump and offered brief opening remarks to the man he has repeatedly slammed as a threat to democracy. "Politics is tough, and in many cases it's not a very nice world. It is a nice world today and I appreciate it very much," Trump said. Trump added that the transfer of power would be "smooth as you can get" -- despite the fact that his transition team has not yet signed some key legal documents ahead of his inauguration as president on January 20.

[revoluzzer19]

"Unterdessen wurde bekannt, dass Amazon plane, eine Million Dollar für die Amtseinführung von Trump zu spenden."

Dann werde ich "Amazon" boykottieren! Mit meinem Geld diesen Trottel füttern läuft nicht!

*

"Meanwhile, it was announced that Amazon was planning to donate a Million Dollars to Trump's Inauguration."

Then I will boycott „Amazon“! Feeding this Idiot with my Money is not going to work!

[ronbe411]

Democrats Gets Terrible News After boycott of Trump's inauguration - ‘Yo...

[mongorevera]

Democrats Gets Terrible News After boycott of Trump's inauguration - ‘Yo...

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Alright, *sure*

I'll bite. I'm not a big fan of people tokenizing my people's oppression, so I'm absolutely game to flesh out a bit exactly which side is the one doing it here.

Lets follow the basic rules of thinking critically about our information sources, shall we? Now, the first rule I *always* learned was Follow The Money, so let's start there and work our way out, shall we?

Follow the money

The super bowl ad being referred to here was bought and paid for by Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, an organization founded by New England Patriot's owner Robert K Kraft. So we're going to split this "follow the money" portion into two pieces. One will follow FCAS, and one will follow Robert Kraft. This is because we recognize that philanthropic passion projects founded by the wealthy are often deeply influenced in HOW they approach their philanthropic goals by the specific political views and frameworks of their founders.

Preface - Robert K Kraft

Robert Kraft is well known for a variety of philanthropic endeavors, including education based programs, anti-antisemetism programs, a few disaster/traumatic event relief programs, and various programs that tie together football and Israel (building a stadium in Jerusalem, bringing players on tourism events to Israel, etc). Robert Kraft is a named disclosure in the Paradise Papers as a holder of multiple "tax shelter" accounts in Bermuda, although he maintains these have never held substantial funds.

Here are a few key places Robert K Kraft tends to donate his money per opensecrets and Influence Watch:

- several state level democratic candidates

- several state level republican candidates

- several democratic federal candidates

- several democratic state parties

- several Republican state bodies in MA

- almost all recent presedential nominees including Obama, Biden, Romney, George Bush, and Trump. In fact, Kraft seems to make a bit of a habit of donating to both the democratic AND the republican nominee during presidential election cycles.

- AIPAC

- ADL

- additional funds to Trump's inauguration committee, and is self-reportedly long time friends with the former president, although he has also been heard on leaked tapes critiquing his politics

- funds to FCAS *specifically* earmarked to, quote, "combat the Boycott, Divest, Sanction movent against Israel"

-the Boys and Girls Club of Boston

Interface - Foundation to Combat Antisemitism

- FCAS works closely with Brandeis University, a Jewish collegiate program that is involved heavily in Jewish educational initiatives, anti-antisemetism programs, etc. Brandeis also recently received backlash from many Jewish peace organizations for shuttering their Students for Justice in Palestine organization and banning its members from continuing operations during the recent conflict escalations since Oct 7th and has continued to use inflammatory language (e.g. "Israel-Hamas War") when acknowledging dissatisfaction from students and alumni on this topic.

Tara Levine has recently assumed the presidency of FCAS. I wasn't able to find much about Tata levine, but it appears that she was named as the first President of FCAS this past August while FCAS was founded in 2019. Her career experience seems to come primarily from the corporate/for-profit world, not NFP or other similar entities. For example she worked for Converse, Ocean Spray, etc.

FCAS appears to prioritize programs that intersect with Black-Jewish allied experiences, as well as projects that combine both efforts to confront antisemitism and education challenges. The vast majority of these appear to be awareness campaigns which FCAS indicates are intended to "build positive messaging and partnerships to encourage people, especially non-Jewish people, to stand up against hate and intolerance."

So at this point, what we are seeing is a Jewish man who seems to espouse fairly bipartisan support of USA political scene and a center-left philanthropic history that appears to specifically come from the lens of corporate cultural-financial perspectives, despite his history of close and personal relationships with former President Trump. He reportedly initiated the FCAS towards the end of his friend's presidency as an effort to shift the public narrative around antisemitism and the Jewish people. However, in doing so, he has not typically worked with OTHER LONG STANDING GROUPS who have been working in this space for years or decades, rather he founded and funded his own or his friends organizations as a way to provide philanthropy to pet causes while financially benfitting himself, something that isn't entirely surprising given his wealth, status, and disclosure in the Paradise Papers. Notably, FCAS does not appear to work with ANY pro-Jewish organizations that also support Palestinian safety OR liberation, has funded programs and projects that explicitly benefit Israel only, and appears in news statements to conflate support for the Palestinian people with support for Hamas. The pro-Jewish organizations he DOES work with and donate to often have a history of much more explicitly anti-Palestinian views, and while he and his organizations may not voice these views, it is very clear based on who they coordinate with, what projects they choose to fund, and what phrases or information remains ABSENT from their work, that this may not be because they are not the views held by the founder and staff.

Contextualize the Information

We are nearing the 150 day mark since the bombardment of Gaza and the West Bank began. We have seen repeated attempts to contextualize pro-Palestinian or pro-ceasefire movements as antisemitism, including by some of the organizations directly funded by or coordinating with Robert K Kraft and the FCAS, such as the ADL. I hope I am not the only one who remembers when the ADL recently made news by deciding to add Jewish-led peace protests by organizations like JVP and IfNotNow. In fact, the ADL has specifically made efforts to describe these groups as antisemetic and as "pushing inflammatory ideas" such as being "anti-Israel" and "celebrating Israeli deaths". These are absolutely unacceptable allegations that can easily be disproven within the intracommunal conversations held by groups like JVP and INN, however since Oct, the ADL has been pushing a solid stance that any act of antizionism is also an act of antisemitism, no matter who commits it.

In the days leading up to the superbowl ads release, Gazan citizens had been pushed to Rafah and were anticipating from increasing skirmishes and violence that once they were fully trapped with nowhere to go, Israel would resume its recent Rafah bombing campaigns. This is EXACTLY what happened the day of the superbowl.

Applying a critical lens

I know that because you are on tumblr, you are familiar with the concept that a certain degree of silence in the face of oppression can become, in essence and regardless of the intentions of those perpetrating the silence, complicity with said oppression.

What we appear to have in Robert K Kraft and the FCAS is acultivated silence around all things Palestinian. All things related to the recent conflict that has killed tens of thousands. This is particularly notable because FCAS and Robert Kraft appear to present themselves as people/organizations invested in multiple issues/need areas. Specifically, the FCAS states they seek to adjust perspectives on ALL forms of oppression and bigotry. For an organization seeking to combat antisemitism to refuse to address the current conflict crisis in the Israel/Palestine region is at BEST a matter of the organization being apparently run by people with little to no actual NFP or activism experience. At WORST it appears an explicit silence and erasure so that they and their allies can apply pressure, perpetuate misinformation, and continue to elevate the status of Israeli Jews of non-Jewish Israelis and Palestinian people in other projects that they are less inclined to seek awareness for.

It is not inappropriate for people to look at this contextualized map of information, view the superbowl ad, and come to the conclusion that any reference to Islam, or Jewish-Muslim solidarity is tokenism at best, particularly when it does not appear that FCAS has ever sought ACTUAL Jewish-Muslim solidarity in its non-profit/activism work. It is not inappropriate for those of us who have spent years doing the actual work to be frustrated and a little dissatisfied with such a new organization wielding such tokenistic presentations of information and "advocacy" while behind the scenes supporting and platforming the voices of people and organizations actively working against us. To glorify Israel, it's actions, and the zionist framework within which these entities operate is not *actually* helpful for reducing rates of antisemitism against Jewish people, as MANY antizionist Jews and advocacy organizations have been trying to explain for years. It is actively harmful for these misinformation campaigns to be funded by the millions while campaigns that work to actively untangle the relationship between antisemitism, zionism, white supremacy, colonialism, etc on our lives are being actively criminalized.

Now I've seen the ad in question. And I want to emphasize that it's message is fairly easy access. In fact we have literally already discussed it. "Silence breeds hate." It tacks on a little blue social media icon square and a hashtag to this so you can feel like you're not "being silent" in the face of hate.

So lets ask the question then. Why the deafening silence from this group about the conflict in Gaza? About the ways in which Jewish people have been discriminated against and erased from their own movements, arrested or assaulted or even killed in Israel for standing against a genocide? Why the total absence of any attempt to define or explore antisemitism from FCAS as something that can be understood and challenged? Why the explicit association with actors who are doing the work of erasing, occluding, and harming? I'm familiar with some of FCAS and Robert Kraft's other funded campaigns and they're ALL this bland and - frankly - FUCKING USELESS in any real conversation about antisemitism, white supremacy, or xenaphobia. As an activist, these are not groups or campaigns I would ever name as likely to be effective in actually changing hearts or minds, or even in impacting policy on any significant scale. The closest FCAS comes to that is an anti-book burning fund, and even that I cannot find specifics enough about to tell you that the work is actually good.

This is not a helpful commercial. This is, definitionally, a propoganda piece. So what is it propoganda for? Well, I'm not in the mind of FCAS social team, or Robert Kraft, so I can't say for sure. But after sitting down to do the research, I sure can fucking guess.

The Super Bowl ad where MLK’s speechwriter asks you to please not do antisemitic hate crimes contains this shot of a Jewish man and a Hijabi woman erasing Islamophobic graffiti together. If your first response to that is to assume it’s an anti-Palestinian plot, or Zionists using media to distract the masses from the evils of the Jews. Then that means you’ve been brainwashed. Please consider logging off the internet for a while and seeing if you feel better

[maswartz]

Look at how pissy Trump is that the flag will be at half staff during his inauguration to honor Carter. Imagine his pure FURY is his crowd is smaller than his first inauguration. Boycott the inauguration don't even protest it. Don't even hate watch it!

[harvestheart]

But Scotland's first minister stressed it is illegal to travel in or out of the country without a valid reason and said: "Coming to play golf is not what I would consider to be an essential purpose."

[newsresults]

Trump would be only the 4th president to boycott successor's inauguration

Trump would be only the 4th president to boycott successor’s inauguration

If he follows through, he’ll become only the fourth president to boycott his successor’s regularly scheduled inauguration and the first in more than 150 years to do so. Two other presidents missed their successors’ regularly scheduled swearings-in, Martin Van Buren and Woodrow Wilson. The reason for Van Buren’s absence is unknown but not seen as malicious by historians, while Wilson’s was for…

[theworldchangedwithoutme]

Asking for a friend. Makes perfect sense to me

Congratulations President Biden! With that said, I’m going to need some help from my Democratic Liberal friends:

1. Can I borrow the #NotMyPresident hashtag or is that reserved for President Trump?

2. Did the Republicans boycott the Inauguration, like the Democrats did for President Trump?

3. Do I have to accept the election results, or can I cry for four years, claiming election interference?

4. Am I entitled to see Biden’s tax returns to learn how his income jumped dramatically in one year (I mean, we all know how and why. Just show the proof.)?

5. Am I allowed to trash anything that Biden says, without repercussion, because I’m just expressing myself?

6. Is there a sign-up somewhere for riots, do organizers call me, or how does that work, since I didn’t get my way?

7. Are businesses targeted because they supported Biden, or do I just pick a business that has something I want to take home?

8. Were the thousands of businesses that boarded up for fear of riots, for Conservatives or Liberals? If they were for Conservatives, did I miss the riots already???

9. Where are the safe spaces at? Is there a map or something? I may need to go cry for a little while (because of how stupid our country has become).

10. Does all the free stuff your party has promised, just come or do I have to quit my job first?

11. What is the address you guys have been sending all that extra tax money to, since you think people aren’t paying enough in taxes? I’m sure you have been voluntarily sending in more than required...

12. When my 401K crashes, will the President make up for that in give-a-ways, or am I just screwed?

13. Since Socialism is what you just voted in, if my neighbor has something I want, do I just take it or do I have to let him know I’m taking it (Personally, I have had my eye on the brand NEW Mercedes SUV, a couple of doors down ... Biden sign in yard.).

14. When gas gets unaffordable, is there an EBT card for that?

15. I have seen the gatherings of Conservatives protesting the election results, but something is wrong, nothing is getting destroyed. Did you guys go to a class for that, or could you provide some pointers on how to do it right, please?

16. So, now that you are the President, Is every death now on you, or is it President Trump's responsibility, just at your convenience?

17. During Biden's State of the Union Address, is Nancy going to tear up the speech on national television, or does she only do that with President Trump?

I’m sorry for all the questions, this is all new to me. I want to make sure I get it right!

[sarcasticcynic]

Since the 2020 election, North Carolina Republican Senator Bob Steinburg has been pushing the “Big Lie” conspiracy theory that Biden somehow stole it:

“In past conversations, Steinburg has said China, the CIA, the FBI and potentially a blackmail campaign against U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts are or may be involved in a long-planned coup that culminated in the November elections.”

Once all legal challenges (plus one attempted coup) failed and Biden was formally inaugurated, Steinburg finally acknowledged that Biden is president and it’s time to move on.

“Today Lady Liberty sheds a tear as Biden’s faux call for unity falls upon deaf ears at his swearing in to the Presidency.

“Our new President is sadly a crook and at least 75 million (likely more) Americans agree. This election was stolen- no one- no one will ever convince me otherwise. Where Biden and the Democrats want to take our country is frightening, beginning with their silencing of free speech, opening up our borders and further bankrupting our nation fiscally and morally. I’m sorry, Biden and Harris can not and will not ever unite us and certainly NEVER heal us. The Constitution is in grave peril and Lady Liberty is shedding more than a tear on this day.”

Or not.

Quick fact check:

“At least 75 million (likely more) Americans agree”: In reality, post-election polls show that most voters--60% in November, 61% in December, and 65% in January--believe the results of the 2020 election are accurate. Less than one-third still believe the “Big Lie,” and the vast majority of those are Republicans.

“Their silencing of free speech”: Steinburg’s post kinda disproves his own claim, no? Freedom of speech is just that, the right to speak. It doesn’t require others to listen to or believe your speech; it doesn’t include the right to preclude others from criticizing your speech; and it doesn’t insulate you from any other (non-governmental) consequences of your speech. Economic boycotts, for example. Or private platforms refusing to give you a free megaphone to broadcast your speech to a worldwide audience.

“Opening up our borders”: Trump’s vanity wall was useless, so stopping its construction doesn’t open up a damn thing.

“Bankrupting our nation fiscally”: When President Obama took office in 2009, the federal deficit was over $1.4 trillion. In Obama’s last year in office, 2016, the deficit was down to $587 billion. Under Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate, the deficit increased every single year; by Trump’s last year in office, 2020, it was at an all-time high of $3.1 trillion, more than double the previous record. Who’s bankrupting our nation, again?

One might hope Steinburg’s Republican colleagues would disapprove of, or at least disagree with, his continued false claims. One would be disappointed.

“WRAL News reached out via email Thursday morning to the other 27 Republicans in the state Senate, seeking to determine how widespread these beliefs may be. None responded beyond a statement from Senate ... leadership. ‘Sen. Steinburg is an elected member of the North Carolina legislature and can and does speak his mind. We are not in the business of policing the speech of other members, who are responsible only to the voters who elected them.’ ...

“When emails to rank-and-file Republican senators didn’t elicit responses, WRAL called seven directly. One took the call, none returned messages. ‘As far as I know, everybody in America can still have their own opinion,’ [Sen. Warren] Daniel said, ‘and Sen. Steinburg can have his.’”

[mongorevera]

Democrats Gets Terrible News After boycott of Trump's inauguration - ‘Y...

[mei-lingere]

If donations isn't financially possible for you, you can still boycott the brands of these CEOs, Owners or Chairmen that have financially supported or are supporting Trump 2020.

Estee Lauder donated $100,000 in 2017.

Owner of

• Aveda

• Origins

• Clinique

• Bobbi Brown

• Jo Malone

• MAC Cosmetics

• Smashbox Cosmetics

• Micheal Kors Beauty

• Tory Burch Beauty

Bernard Marcus and Ken Langone (both retired) donated over $7 million to PAC for Trump 2020.

• Home Depot

Sheldin Adelson donated 5 million to Trumps inaugural fund and $25 million to PACs for Trump 2020.

• Las Vegas Sands Corporation

• Locations in Las Vegas

• Sands Expo

• The Venetian

• MSG Sphere

• The Palazzo

Tillman Fertitta donated $35,000 to the Trump Victory PAC in Feburary.

• Bubba Gump

• Del Frisco's

• Joe's Crab Shack

James Bodenstedt donated over $444,000 to Trump 2020.

• Taco Bell

• Wendy's

• Pizza Hut

Linda and Vincent Mahon donated $6 million to Trump 2016 and $3.6 million to Trump 2020.

• World of Wrestling Entertainment

Dana White and Franj Fertitta donated $1 million each to Trump 2020.

• Ultimate Fighting Campionship (UFC)

Jim Davis donated $200,000 to Trump 2016.

• New Balance

Issac Perlmutter donated $360,000 to Trump 2016 and $5 million to Trump 2020 Super PACs.

Chairman of:

• Marvel Entertainment

Systemic racism and police brutality are not caused by the Trump administration, and have existed before and will exist after he is removed from office. But we cannot allow the reelection of a President who threatens and attacks his own people, people who are asking the government to respect their constitutional right to assemble and to live, and he responds using the forces meant to protect them to suppress and attack them. Trump is not the root of the problem, but that does not mean he isn't a problem at all.

Please add any additional companies/owners that support Trump.

[emerald-studies]

The powerful  John Lewis

Early Life

John Robert Lewis was born outside of Troy, Alabama, on February 21, 1940. Lewis had a happy childhood — though he needed to work hard to assist his sharecropper parents — but he chafed against the unfairness of segregation. He was particularly disappointed when the Supreme Court ruling in 1954's Brown v. The Board of Education didn't affect his school life. However, hearing Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermons and news of the 1955-56 Montgomery bus boycott inspired Lewis to act for the changes he wanted to see.

Civil Rights Struggle

In 1957, Lewis left Alabama to attend the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he learned about nonviolent protest and helped to organize sit-ins at segregated lunch counters. He was arrested during these demonstrations, which upset his mother, but Lewis was committed to the Civil Rights Movement and went on to participate in the Freedom Rides of 1961.

Freedom Riders challenged the segregated facilities they encountered at interstate bus terminals in the South, which had been deemed illegal by the Supreme Court. It was dangerous work that resulted in arrests and beatings for many involved, including Lewis.

In 1963, Lewis became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. That same year, as one of the "Big Six" leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, he helped plan the March on Washington. Lewis—the youngest speaker at the event—had to alter his speech in order to please other organizers, but still delivered a powerful oration that declared, "We all recognize the fact that if any radical social, political and economic changes are to take place in our society, the people, the masses, must bring them about."

After the March on Washington, in 1964, the Civil Rights Act became law. However, this did not make it easier for African Americans to vote in the South. To bring attention to this struggle, Lewis and Hosea Williams led a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. After crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the marchers were attacked by state troopers. Lewis was severely beaten once more, this time suffering a fractured skull.

The violent attacks were recorded and disseminated throughout the country, and the images proved too powerful to ignore. "Bloody Sunday," as the day was labeled, sped up the passage of 1965's Voting Rights Act.

U.S. Congressman

Lewis left the SNCC in 1966. Though devastated by the assassinations of King and Robert Kennedy in 1968, Lewis continued his work to enfranchise minorities. In 1970, he became director of the Voter Education Project. During his tenure, the VEP helped to register millions of minority voters.

Lewis ran for office himself in 1981, winning a seat on the Atlanta City Council. In 1986, he was elected to the House of Representatives. Today, representing Georgia's 5th District, he is one of the most respected members of Congress. Since entering office, he has called for healthcare reform, measures to fight poverty and improvements in education. Most importantly, he oversaw multiple renewals of the Voting Rights Act. When the Supreme Court struck down part of the law in 2013's Shelby County v. Holder, Lewis decried the decision as a "dagger into the heart" of voting rights.

In the wake of the mass shooting that took place on June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida, Lewis led a sit-in comprised of approximately 40 House Democrats on the floor of the House of Representatives on June 22nd in an attempt to bring attention and force Congress to address gun violence by taking definitive legislative action. “We have been too quiet for too long,” Lewis said. “There comes a time when you have to say something. You have to make a little noise. You have to move your feet. This is the time.”

The protest came just days after several measures including a bill regarding background checks and adding restrictions on the purchase of guns by people on the federal no-fly list, failed in the Senate. Senator Chris Murphy applauded the protest. Murphy had previously led a filibuster in the Senate which led to the subsequent vote.

Clashing With Donald Trump

Lewis also spoke out against the presidency of Donald Trump, who was elected on November 8, 2016. In an interview with Chuck Todd for NBC News’ Meet the Press, which aired on January 15, 2017, Lewis said he didn’t believe Trump was a “legitimate president” because of Russian interference in the election. “I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected and they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton,” Lewis said in the interview. He also said he would not attend Trump’s inauguration.

Trump responded on Twitter, criticizing Lewis’ work as a congressman and tweeting that Lewis was “All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!” The president-elect's attack on Lewis came just days before the Martin Luther King holiday, and prompted vocal support of the civil rights icon across social media. Several Democratic lawmakers also joined in support of Lewis, and boycotted Trump’s inauguration.

Trump continued his war of words, tweeting: “John Lewis said about my inauguration, ‘It will be the first one that I've missed.’ WRONG (or lie)! He boycotted Bush 43 also because he...thought it would be hypocritical to attend Bush's swearing-in....he doesn't believe Bush is the true elected president. Sound familiar!”

A spokeswoman for Lewis confirmed that he had missed the inauguration of George W. Bush: "His absence at that time was also a form of dissent. He did not believe the outcome of that election, including the controversies around the results in Florida and the unprecedented intervention of the U.S. Supreme Court, reflected a free, fair and open democratic process.”

Cancer Diagnosis

In December 2019, Lewis announced that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Although he was "clear-eyed about the prognosis," Lewis said he felt encouraged that medical advancements had made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, adding that he intended to return to work as soon as possible.

Legacy

Though the Supreme Court's decision about the Voting Rights Act was a blow to Lewis, he has been encouraged by the progress that has occurred in his lifetime. After Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, Lewis stated that "When we were organizing voter-registration drives, going on the Freedom Rides, sitting in, coming here to Washington for the first time, getting arrested, going to jail, being beaten, I never thought—I never dreamed—of the possibility that an African American would one day be elected president of the United States."

In addition to continuing his work in Congress, Lewis has reached out to a younger generation by helping to create a series of graphic novels about his work in the Civil Rights Movement. In 2016, he won the National Book Award for the third installment in the series March: Book Three, which marks the first time a graphic novel has received the honor.

He accepted the award with co-writer Andrew Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell and spoke of its significance in an emotional acceptance speech. “Some of you know I grew up in rural Alabama, very poor, very few books in our home,” Lewis said. “I remember in 1956, when I was 16 years old, going to the public library to get library cards, and we were told the library was for whites only and not for coloreds. And to come here and receive this honor, it’s too much.”

He also spoke about the importance of books in his life. “I had a wonderful teacher in elementary school who told me: ‘Read, my child, read’, and I tried to read everything," he said. "I love books.”

The civil rights icon has also been honored with numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the NAACP's Spingarn Medal and the sole John F. Kennedy "Profile in Courage Award" for Lifetime Achievement.” (source)

Glad he’s still around!