Obama, Clinton and Bush to attend and take part in John Lewis funeral as Trump stays away

'Let him to do what he wants to do', says spokeswoman for late congressman on US president

Three former US presidents will attend and participate in congressman John Lewis’s funeral, which is set to take place in Atlanta without Donald Trump’s attendance.

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Barack Obama are all expected to attend and take part in the funeral service on Thursday, reports CNN.

The service at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church will see Mr Obama eulogise the late Georgia Democrat, according to NBC News, whilst Mr Clinton and Mr Bush are also expected to participate in the ceremony.

Lewis, who was a pioneer of the American civil rights movement, will be laid to rest following an almost week-long memorial that Mr Trump has not participated in.

He told White House reporters this week that ”I won’t be going. No,” to visit Lewis’s body which lay in state at the Dome of the Capitol.

Mr Trump, who has stirred racial tensions since Black Lives Matter protests began two months ago, does not have plans to attend Thursday’s funeral.

Lewis’s longtime spokeswoman, Brenda Jones, said “this is not a political event,” when asked about the president’s attendance.

“It’s our time to pay respect to a man who did a great deal for this country. And that’s all we want it to be.”

She added that “people can pay their respect in a lot of different ways. ... He [Mr Trump] has that right. Let him to do what he wants to do. And I’m sure that John Lewis would be supportive of it.”

Lewis and Mr Trump had an antagonistic relationship with each other after the Democrat refused to attend the “illegitimate president’s” 2017 inauguration.

Mr Obama, in comparison, described Lewis as his personal hero, in a statement shortly after his death on 17 July.

“When I was elected a US Senator, I told him that I stood on his shoulders,” wrote Mr Obama. “When I was elected President of the United States, I hugged him on the inauguration stand before I was sworn in and told him I was only there because of the sacrifices he made,”

“And through all those years, he never stopped providing wisdom and encouragement to me and Michelle and our family. We will miss him dearly.”