Trump slams civil rights icon who says his election illegitimate

President-elect Donald Trump lashed out Saturday at a prominent civil rights icon and lawmaker who said he is skipping next week's inauguration ceremony because he sees the New York businessman's election as illegitimate.

"Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results," Trump said in a tweet.

"All talk, talk, talk — no action or results. Sad!" he added.

Lewis, who represents a district in the southern state of Georgia that includes Atlanta and surrounding areas, on Friday became the most high-profile Democratic lawmaker to boycott Trump's inauguration.

At least eight House Democrats have publicly stated they will not be attending Trump's swearing-in at the US Capitol next Friday, with several indicating their absence will be an act of political protest.

"I don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president," Lewis told NBC's "Meet the Press" talk show in an interview that will air Sunday.

"I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton," he said, adding that he will skip the presidential inauguration for the first time since becoming a member of Congress in 1987.

"You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong."

US intelligence organizations have accused Russia of cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee and distributing hacked emails from senior Clinton aides in an effort to influence the US election.

Lewis, 76, is known for his decades of work in the civil rights movement, and marched with Martin Luther King at the August 1963 rally in Washington at which King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. 

Lewis took part in so-called Freedom — challenges to segregated facilities at bus terminals in the South.

On March 7, 1965, he led a march in Selma, Alabama that ended in an attack by state troopers on the protesters that later became known as "Bloody Sunday."