Andrew Young calls John Lewis a saint, defends him to Trump

NASHVILLE — In a surprise Monday afternoon phone call from Donald Trump, former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young defended civil-rights icon John Lewis, calling him a very good man and a saint.

The president-elect's call to Young, who was here to speak at a breakfast sponsored by law firm Bone McAllester Norton, came after Trump's visit with Martin Luther King III, a meeting that King III said was constructive and focused on making it easier for people to vote.

"John is a good ... a very good man, he is really a saint," Young told Trump in a 4-minute conversation that happened during a Tennessean interview with him and Nashville's mayor, Megan Barry. "He is kind of disillusioned right now, but he will come back."

Young, who was with Martin Luther King Jr. when he was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, didn't mention what Trump said in the phone call. But he said he had been invited to the meeting between Trump and King III.

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Young couldn't attend because of his obligation to speak in Nashville, and the president-elect called him to say hello, Young said.

During the surprise phone call, Young also chatted with Trump about a prayer breakfast that Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey attended, Steven Mnuchin as Trump’s pick to head the Treasury Department and Rex Tillerson as Trump’s pick to head the State Department.

Lewis, whom Young called one of the many influential leaders of the civil-rights movement during the Tennessean interview, provoked Trump's ire after describing him as an illegitimate president, citing Russian efforts to sabotage Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign during the presidential race.

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Lewis, now a Georgia Democrat in Congress, was a student at Fisk University in Nashville when he led nonviolent sit-ins to protest segregated lunch counters. He also took the first Freedom Ride out of Washington, which challenged segregation at interstate bus terminals.

He was arrested 40 times during civil-rights protests, and Alabama state troopers gave him a skull fracture March 7, 1965, during the Bloody Sunday march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery.

Lewis made a mistake in questioning the 2016 election results, said Young, who posted a YouTube video after the election saying that sometimes the civil rights movement has done better under what he called tougher presidents. Even with all its flaws, “it’s the best we are going to get."

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“John Lewis knows that,” Young said after the phone call with Trump. “I think that he made a mistake in saying it, and I think the president-elect made a mistake in responding.”

When the first major issue arises, Americans will begin to unite, said Young, who also is a former Atlanta mayor.

“As soon as things calm down, that spirit will come back together,” Young told Trump.

After hanging up Young said, "Now that is a different Donald Trump than anybody has ever heard."

Contributing: USA TODAY and The Associated Press. Follow Jason Gonzales on Twitter: @ByJasonGonzales