JOHN HINDERAKER: Trump Hits Back at John Lewis [Updated].

Lewis is invariably described as a “civil rights icon,” but the man is an utter fraud. He has been coasting on his 50-year-old reputation for decades. Andrew Breitbart exposed Lewis as a liar when he claimed, falsely, to have been subjected to racial epithets by a crowd outside the Capitol. Lewis disgracefully testified against Jeff Sessions’s nomination as Attorney General, again playing the fake race card. And, for what it’s worth, he didn’t consider George W. Bush a legitimate president, either.

There is no reason to treat John Lewis with kid gloves, and Donald Trump doesn’t do so.

Plus: “The Democrats are already fundraising, dishonestly, off this exchange. A little while ago they sent out an email headed: ‘BREAKING: Donald Trump INSULTS Rep. John Lewis.'” But of course.

Related: The AP Spins Lewis vs. Trump. “Enough with the ‘civil rights legend!’ That was 50 years ago, and has nothing to do with Lewis’s claim that Trump is an illegitimate president-elect, or Trump’s Twitter riposte to the effect that Lewis is an ineffective Congressman. Nor does the impending Martin Luther King day, or the departure of Barack Obama from office, have any relevance. These references are just thrown in so you know whose side you are supposed to be on.”

Yes, but fewer and fewer people care.

Plus: “Lewis has devoted his life to being a hack Democratic Party politician. John McCain was a hero 50 years ago, too, but has that ever stopped the Democrats from criticizing him? No.” That’s different, because shut up racist.

Takeaway: