Donald Trump tweeted an extended-play defense against a threatened impeachment on Friday, even after a three-hour Democratic primary debate yielded no mention of it at all.
The president appears more and more anxious to engage in the congressional mud fight that will come once House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, commit to trying to remove him from office.
And he seems eager to hang the process, for better or worse, around her neck.
‘I think she’s a smart woman and I think she knows exactly what she is doing,’ Trump told DailyMail.com at the White House on Thursday.
Asked if he thought Pelosi was fearful of crossing swords with him during an impeachment fight, he shot back: ‘I don’t think she’s scared of anything.’
On Friday the president launched into a social media litany of reasons he believes he should be beyond the reach of impeachment-happy Democrats, even as he seems eager for them to pull the trigger.
‘How do you impeach a President who has helped create perhaps the greatest economy in the history of our Country? All time best unemployment numbers, especially for Blacks, Hispanics, Asians & Women. More people working today than ever before,’ he tweeted.
President Donald Trump tweeted a litany of accomplishments on Friday to argue against impeachment, but no one had brought it up during Thursday’s Democratic debate in Houston
Trump seems eager to hang a future impeachment around House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s neck while he fires up his base
Pelosi walked out of a press conference on Thursday as she refused to utter the ‘I-word’
Trump boasted that he had ‘Rebuilt [the] Military & [achieved healthcare] Choice for Vets.’
And the U.S. ‘Became Number 1 in World & Independent in Energy’ on his watch, he said in a three-part tweet that bulged at the seams.
‘Will soon have record number of Judges, 2 SC Justices. Done more than any President in first 2 1/2 years despite phony & fraudulent Witch Hunt illegally led against him. WIN on Mueller Report, Mueller Testimony & James Comey IG Report, which showed him to be a Disgraced & Dirty Cop,’ Trump continued.
‘Republicans have unified like never before. You don’t impeach Presidents for doing a good (great!) job. No Obstruction, No Collusion, only treasonous crimes committed by the other side, and led by the Democrats. Sad!’
None of the 10 Democrats who debated Thursday night in Houston seemed to quibble with his rationale, although they have all attacked his policies and some have publicly backed impeachment.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler shepherded a committee vote Thursday to adopt a resolution allowing it to designate hearings as impeachment proceedings against President Trump
The House Democratic Caucus remains divided on whether to impeach the president, but more members jump on board the moving train with every passing week.
The House Judiciary Committee oted Thursady morning along party lines to give itself permission to convene hearings speifically described as part of an impeachment process.
Still, though, Pelosi has stood her ground – seeming to either rule out a formal constitutional process to remove Trump from office or stalling it for the maximum political impact in the 2020 election season.
‘I’m not answering any more questions about a possible inquiry, investigation, and the rest,’ she told reporters Thursday at the U.S. Capitol, walking out of her weekly press conference.
The veteran Democrat is frustrated that Senate Republicans have been unwilling to take up legislation expanding background checks that apply to gun purchasers.
‘Why is it that you are hung up with a word over here when lives are at stake over there?’ she said about impeachment.
On the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday, the president seemed to foreshadow his morning mini-tweetstorm with a similar self-congratulatory checklist.
‘We have the strongest economy in the history of our country. We’re about ready to break the record again on the stock market. We’ve broken the record on jobs. African Americans –— we just broke the record again. You know that,’ he told DailyMail.com
‘If you look at Hispanic American, Asian American, the best –— the best employment and unemployment numbers in the history of our country. With women, we’re … Think of this, 71 years. The best numbers in 71 years.’
‘No, I think we’ve done a great job,’ he said. ‘There are those that say the best job in the history of our country, for the first two and a half years. So, pretty much, that’s the story.’