EXCLUSIVE: President-elect Donald Trump told “Fox & Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt that he doesn’t mind Democratic members of Congress boycotting his inauguration, saying “I hope they give me their tickets.”
At least 60 Democratic members of the House of Representatives have opted to miss Friday’s ceremonies, most notably Georgia Rep. John Lewis, who said last week that he did not consider Trump a “legitimate” president.
“I think he just grandstanded, John Lewis, and then he got caught in a very bad lie, so let’s see what happens,” said Trump, referencing Lewis’ initial claim that Trump’s would be the first inauguration he’s missed – despite having previously boycotted George W. Bush’s 2001 inauguration.
Lewis’ office later claimed they had forgotten that incident, but Trump said: “You don’t forget something like that.”
Trump said he’d be willing to sit down with Lewis but added, “We’re off to a bad start.”
As for other lawmakers not attending, Trump said, “that’s OK, because we need seats so badly, I hope they give me their tickets.”
Trump spoke exclusively to Earhardt in an interview that aired Wednesday morning on “Fox & Friends.” Earhardt joined “Hannity” Tuesday night to preview the sit-down.
“Immediately when I sat down, I said ‘How are you doing?’ because we’d been with him on the campaign trail for basically two years,” Earhardt told Sean Hannity, “and he said, ‘It’s been exhausting, it’s been hard because I’ve had to hire a lot of people.’”
Just days away from succeeding President Obama in the Oval Office, Trump discussed his plans for tackling a variety of issues, including his vow to repeal and replace ObamaCare at the same time.
The president-elect also addressed his use of social media, which he says will continue after he is sworn in as the 45th president.
“Look, I don’t like tweeting. I have other things I could be doing,” Trump told Earhardt. “But I get very dishonest media, very dishonest press, and it’s my only way that I can get out and correct.
“Now, I’m going to be close to 50 million people – including Facebook and Instagram and things, I’m going to be close to 50 million people,” Trump added. “So when people misrepresent me … I have at least a way of saying it’s a false statement. Now, if the press were honest, which it’s not, I would absolutely not use Twitter. I wouldn’t have to.”
(via: FoxNews)
