Republicans in Congress swore an oath to the Constitution—not Donald Trump
Someone should remind House Republicans.
Instead of condemning Trump’s impeachable abuses of power—the evidence for which he provided himself—most Republican members of Congress have defended Trump’s extortion of Ukraine for his own political gain.
Our democracy is at risk. As the impeachment inquiry continues with the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, Bill Taylor, who testified today, Republicans have to choose: Will they put country over party and protect our democracy?
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Trump’s appalling, racist distraction
In a vile tweet this morning, Trump inappropriately compared the impeachment inquiry to lynching and compared himself to thousands of African American lynching victims. Far too often, the burden of immediately condemning Trump’s racism falls on African American lawmakers. Today was no exception:
- Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA): “You are comparing a constitutional process to the PREVALENT and SYSTEMATIC brutal torture of people in THIS country that looked like me? Every time your back is up against the wall, you throw out these racial bombs.”
- Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC): “To have the president classify a Constitutional remedy to an unlawful egregious act such as lynching is beneath the dignity of the office of the President of the United States.”
- Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA): “How dare you?! Since the founding of our nation, African Americans have been lynched and killed just for being black. This is a disgusting and ignorant message from a man who has shown no respect for history. We will not stand for it.”
- Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “Thousands of innocent African-Americans were murdered during the lynching epidemic. They were viciously slaughtered because of the color of their skin. The House impeachment inquiry is mandated by the Constitution. Keep. Your. Historically. Ignorant. Mouth. Shut.”
- Rep. Terri Sewell (D-GA): “From Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement, 3,446 African Americans were murdered by lynching. For President Trump to liken the impeachment inquiry—a lawful investigation—to the racial terror millions of African Americans endured is despicable.”
Trump has a long and appalling history of racist comments. He told congresswomen of color to “go back” where they came from. He promoted the racist and false birtherism attacks against President Obama. He attacked the late Rep. Elijah Cummings’ district as a “very dangerous & filthy place,” and a “rat and rodent infested mess.”
It’s no coincidence that Trump turns to these racist attacks when he is most politically vulnerable. They are atrocious and offensive, and they are also transparent. Right now, Trump wants to distract from the inquiry into his impeachable abuses of power, but it won’t work. Members of Congress must condemn his racism and move forward with the impeachment inquiry.