Image by Getty Images

By Josh Nathan-Kazis January 16, 2017

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, who represents more Jews than any other member of Congress, says that that Donald Trump is not a “legitimate” president.

In comments on CNN and to the Forward, Nadler acknowledged that Trump had been legally elected. But he said that the election had been “tainted” by interference from the Russians and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and that Trump is “not legitimate.”

The charges echo those made last week by Congressman John Lewis, who told NBC on Friday that he did not believe Trump is a “legitimate president.” In response, Trump attacked the civil rights hero on Twitter, setting off a major backlash among congressional Democrats and African Americans.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Nadler said that Trump’s attack on Lewis had convinced him to skip the inauguration this Friday.

“The final straw was when he showed such huge disrespect and insulted an icon, someone who has given blood for this country like John Lewis,” Nadler told the Forward.

Nadler, who has been in Congress since 1992, said that he has only skipped one other presidential inauguration since he arrived in Washington, and that the previous time was not meant as an act of protest. He said that Trump’s inauguration is different.

“There were two huge thumbs placed on the scale,” Nadler told the Forward. “One by the Russians and one by the FBI… I think the election was tainted by the FBI and by the Russians.”

Nadler acknowledged, however, that Trump’s victory was legal.

“He is legal,” Nadler said. “There’s nothing we can do about that. His appointments will be legal. He has to — he’s totally egoistic, so he’s not going to do this — but he should lean over backwards to gain legitimacy.”

While Nadler’s district includes reliably Democratic parts of New York City like Manhattan’s Upper West Side, he also represents Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn that voted heavily for Trump.

A supporter of the Iran nuclear deal, which was deeply unpopular in portions of his district, Nadler faced his first primary challenge in two decades last year. He won the primary by a landslide in Manhattan, but struggled in the Brooklyn portions of his district that eventually voted for Trump.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected]

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount