Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Elijah Cummings.
Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland said on Thursday that he never told Trump that he would go down as one of the "great presidents."
Trump told The New York Times in a Wednesday interview that Cummings told Trump during an Oval Office meeting, "You will go down as one of the great presidents in the history of our country."
Trump repeated the claim twice during the wide-ranging interview.
In a statement provided to The Washington Post on Thursday, the Maryland Democrat said he actually told Trump that he "could be a great president if ... if ... he takes steps to truly represent all Americans rather than continuing on the divisive and harmful path that he is currently on."
Cummings said on Tuesday that Martin Luther King Jr. would be "very disappointed," in the current administration, though he has tried to work with Trump on drug-pricing reform.