President Trump on Wednesday excoriated the eulogy former President Barack Obama delivered last week during the funeral of late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis.
“I think it was a terrible speech. It was an angry speech. It showed there’s anger there that people don’t see,” Mr. Trump said during an interview aired on Fox News.
Speaking on the “Fox & Friends” show, Mr. Trump proceeded to slam his predecessor for delivering a speech he described as “ridiculous,” “totally inappropriate” and “very bad.”
“I thought his speech the other day at the funeral was a terrible, terrible representation of what our country is all about,” Mr. Trump continued. “I thought it was absolutely terrible.”
Mr. Obama spoke for roughy 40 minutes during a funeral held last Thursday for Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who first gained prominence during the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
Without mentioning Mr. Trump by name, Mr. Obama accused his successor of essentially trying to reverse progress made possible by the efforts of Lewis and other civil rights leaders who fought for Black suffrage.
“[E]ven as we sit here, there are those in power are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting — by closing polling locations, and targeting minorities and students with restrictive ID laws, and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the Postal Service in the run-up to an election that is going to be dependent on mailed-in ballots so people don’t get sick,” said Mr. Obama.
“Now, I know this is a celebration of John’s life,” Mr. Obama continued. “There are some who might say we shouldn’t dwell on such things. But that’s why I’m talking about it. John Lewis devoted his time on this Earth fighting the very attacks on democracy and what’s best in America that we are seeing circulate right now.”
Near the end of the eulogy, Mr. Obama urged politicians to honor Lewis and his legacy by taking several steps to reform the U.S. electoral process, including automatically registering every American to vote, adding polling places and expanding early voting, as well as eliminating the filibuster, a process used in the U.S. Senate to delay or block legislation from advancing.
Lewis died July 17 at the age of 80. Mr. Trump did not attend his funeral.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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