Elijah Cummings calls on Trump to stop attacking John Lewis: ‘Put down the Twitter stuff'
Rep. Elijah Cummings (MSNBC)

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) urged Donald Trump to give Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) a call to discuss their differences instead of issuing social media insults.

The Democratic lawmaker and civil rights legend called Trump "illegitimate" due to his concerns about Russian interference in the election, and the president-elect spent the weekend insulting Lewis and his congressional district.

Cummings, a longtime friend and colleague of Lewis, described the situation as "unfortunate" during a Monday appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"My father, who only had a fourth-grade education, a former sharecropper, used to say, 'Big can't get you as small's got you,'" Cummings said. "You just can't do this."

Cummings said every member of the Black Congressional Caucus owed their seats to Lewis -- who he described as "indeed a hero" -- and the sacrifices he'd made during the civil rights era.

"We wouldn't be in Congress, probably, if it were not for people like John Lewis who put their lives on the line for us," Cummings said.

He hoped Trump would reach out to Lewis on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

"I would hope that the president, today, would pick up the phone, put down the Twitter stuff and just give John Lewis a call," Cummings said.