Books by US politician and civil rights hero John Lewis have soared to the top of the bestseller list after Donald Trump attempted to discredit him on the eve of Martin Luther King Day.

The Guardian reports that two graphic novels and a memoir by Lewis took the top three spots within hours of Trump tweeting: "Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart."

On Monday Lewis's graphic novel March, about the US civil rights movement, had risen from 451st place in the overall bestsellers list to No.1. His memoir Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement shot from 8,699 places to No.2.

Trump was responding to comments Lewis made on NBC News, where he said that he did not regard the President-elect as legitimate and announced that he would not be attending his inauguration.

Lewis, 76, has been a member of Congress since 1987 and is a hugely respected figure in the US, largely due to his role in the civil rights struggle during the 1960s, where he marched with thousands of others in a peaceful protest across the Edmund Pettis Bridge with Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama, and suffered serious injuries in the bloody conflict that followed.

In the pair of tweets sent on Sunday, Trump accused Lewis of being "all talk, talk, talk - no action or results".

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Republicans and Democrats were united in their criticism for Trump's reaction.

Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, who is African-American, said the tweet was "unnecessary... it's unfortunate".

"John Lewis has a walk that very few people in this country - least of all Donald Trump - have ever walked. So you have to respect that and pay attention in a real sense."

Rep Ted Lieu, one of Lewis' Democrat colleagues, said he would also be skipping the inauguration.

"Trump - who lost the popular vote - has made a series of racist, sexist and bigoted statements," he said. "In addition he has attacked Gold Star parents, veterans such as John McCain and now civil rights icon John Lewis.