White House addresses Trump 'lynching' tweet on impeachment probe
White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley reacts on 'America's Newsroom' to criticism surrounding President Trump's tweet calling Democrats' impeachment inquiry a 'lynching.'
After President Trump received swift backlash Tuesday for tweeting that the Democrats' impeachment inquiry is a “lynching,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said that Trump “was not trying to compare himself to the horrific history in this country."
“What he was trying to point out clearly was that he has been attacked relentlessly by the mainstream media without cause, without evidence since the day he took over in this office,” Gidley told “America's Newsroom.”
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Gidley also cited Trump’s contributions to the African-American community such as opportunity zones, wage increases, criminal justice reform, and a record in unemployment.
Trump described House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry as a “lynching” on Tuesday, claiming the way it's being conducted opens the door for future presidents to be impeached “without due process or fairness or any legal rights.”
"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!" he tweeted.
Trump was swiftly condemned by Democrats for using such racially charged language.
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"You think this impeachment is a LYNCHING?" tweeted Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill. "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you know how many people who look like me have been lynched, since the inception of this country, by people who look like you. Delete this tweet."
Gidley dismissed the criticism, saying, “These relentless attacks from the mainstream media have got to stop. They knew exactly what he was talking about here. He was very clear.”
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The president’s tweet comes amid the escalating impeachment inquiry in the House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced the formal process last month, following revelations surrounding the president’s summer phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he pressed for politically charged investigations.
Gidley said Trump is frustrated that a person who received a "parking ticket" is afforded more "due process" than the president is getting from House Democrats.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.