Trump complains he has to fight off ‘lowlifes’ conducting ‘illegitimate’ impeachment inquiry as he seats himself next to embattled Mick Mulvaney at cabinet meeting following ‘quid pro quo’ comment
- President Donald Trump complained about the ‘phony’ and ‘illegitimate’ Democratic impeachment inquiry on Monday
- He spoke at a cabinet meeting where he was seated next to acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney
- Mulvaney is under fire for his Friday comments about holding up aid to Ukraine
- Trump didn’t answer a shouted question about whether Mulvaney would stay on
President Donald Trump began the week fuming about the House Democratic impeachment probe he branded as ‘illegitimate’ after his acting chief of staff spent Sunday trying to explain his explosive ‘quid pro quo’ comments.
‘Why would they want to impeach me? It’s so illegitimate,’ Trump said, a day before House committees are to hear from a top career diplomat who was overseeing the U.S. embassy in Ukraine and complained about the ‘crazy’ idea of linking military aid to an investigation that would help Trump.
He blasted Democrats – while singling out Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who called Trump’s phone call to the president of Ukraine ‘deeply troubling.’
President Donald Trump complained about the ‘phony’ and ‘illegitimate’ Democratic impeachment inquiry on Monday
‘Two things [Democrats] have. They’re vicious and they stick together,’ Trump said. ‘They don’t have Mitt Romney in their midst. They don’t have people like that.’
‘I think they want to impeach me because it’s the only way they’re going to win,’ the president said, after Gallup polling indicated a slim majority now backs his impeachment and removal from office.
Trump complained: ‘I have to fight off these lowlifes at the same time I’m negotiating these deals.’
Trump complained about Democrats and Mitt Romney during a cabinet meeting Monday
Trump insulted House Intelligence chair Rep. Adam Schiff, calling him ‘shifty Schiff’ and accusing him of corruption
Romney has criticized Trump’s interactions with the president of Ukraine
‘This is phony investigation,’ the president said, once again using a word he used to bash the Mueller probe.
The president was seated at a cabinet meeting next to acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who got grilled on Sunday about his Friday statements that he held up millions in security aid for Ukraine while seeking an investigation of the Democrats’ 2016 server.
Trump didn’t answer a shouted question about whether Mulvaney would stay on at the end of the cabinet meeting.
Acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought tweeted Monday that OMB officials including himself ‘will not be complying with deposition requests this week’ made by House Democrats.
Trump continued to go after the whistle-blower who alleged he engaged in misconduct with the president of Ukraine.
‘Do we have to protect a whistleblower who gives a false account? I don’t know. You tell me,’ Trump asked. He once again went after House Intelligence chair Rep. Adam Schiff, asking: ‘Why didn’t he say he met with the whistleblower?’ A schiff aide met with the whistleblower in advance of his complaint, and advised him to get a lawyer, the committee said.
‘Schiff is a corrupt politician,’ Trump said.
Trump said ‘vicious’ Democrats ‘stick together,’ then took a shot at increasingly outspoken GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah. ‘They don’t have Mitt Romney,’ he said.
Trump once again called his phone call with President Volodymr Zelensky ‘perfect’ and said: ‘I haven’t heard one Ukrainian say there was pressure…and the reason you haven’t heard it is there was no pressure.’