Donald Trump Blasts House Impeachment Inquiry, Compares It To A ‘Lynching’
As is his habit, President Donald Trump woke up and got started on Twitter early today.
He started out with some quotes from Fox & Friends about Hillary Clinton, poll numbers, and his approval rating among Republicans. He also thanked Republican representatives for voting to censure Rep. Adam Schiff, who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Then Trump tweeted about a hypothetical future.
“So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!”
Many Twitter users immediately disapproved of the president’s language and considered it racist.
“A ‘lynching?’ Seriously? How DARE you? Your insensitivity is stunning. Your blatant racism is disgusting. YOU are despicable…” replied actor Andy Ostroy.
Others, like Dr. Eugene Gu, brought up Trump’s accusations against the later-exonerated Central Park 5, along with the history of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old who was lynched in 1955 in Mississippi after a false accusation.
“So for Trump to complain how he is the victim of a lynching because of this impeachment inquiry is one of his most appalling words of his entire presidency,” Gu replied.
Trump also frequently refers to the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry as a “witch hunt.”
ABC News reported that Trump’s use of the word “lynching” to describe the impeachment inquiry against him comes months after the Senate passed The Justice for Victims of Lynching Act, which makes lynching a federal hate crime in the United States. Democratic Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, and Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina co-sponsored the bill.
At the heart of the impeachment inquiry against President Trump is a July 25 phone call between him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump has repeatedly called on the House to hold a formal vote to launch the inquiry, but Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced last week that they would not vote at this time. The lack of a vote is something the president has pointed out often, but the Constitution does not lay out requirements for how the House conducts its investigation.
The tweet comes after Trump referred to the emoluments clause as “phony” yesterday, according to a report from The Inquisitr. The president initially awarded the contract for the 2020 G7 summit to his Doral property. However, after receiving blowback from both Democrats and Republicans, Trump walked back that decision.
