Outrage as Donald Trump describes impeachment proceedings against him as a ‘lynching’
- The US president’s tweet drew swift backlash against the use of the racially-charged word
“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,” he said. “All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!”
The Twitter post drew a chorus of outrage.
“That is one word that no president ought to apply to himself,” said South Carolina representative James Clyburn, the House majority whip, on CNN. “I’m not just a politician … I’m a product of the south. I know the history of that word,” he added.
“Lynching is a reprehensible stain on this nation’s history, as is this president,” wrote presidential candidate and California senator Kamala Harris. “We’ll never erase the pain and trauma of lynching, and to invoke that torture to whitewash your own corruption is disgraceful.”
