'Shame on you': Donald Trump condemned for comparing impeachment inquiry to 'lynching'

Donald Trump faced a fierce backlash yesterday as Democrats and some Republicans condemned his tweet comparing the impeachment inquiry to a “lynching”.

The US president used the phrase, synonymous with the white racist mobs who murdered black people during a deadly chapter in US history, as he called the impeachment process invalid.

Democratic congressmen and civil rights lawyers urged him to delete the tweet, saying using the word in this context was a “gross misappropriation” and shameful given its racial connotations.

But there was support from within some Republican circles, with claims that the phrase was being used in a political context and was not intended as a comparison with past racist attacks.

Mr Trump, who has faced criticism on numerous occasions for racially insensitive language, triggered the new row on Tuesday in his latest attempt to discredit the impeachment inquiry which threatens his presidency.

The inquiry is being pursued by Democrats, who hold a majority in the House of Representatives.

He tweeted: “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!”

The “lynching” comment prompted swift condemnation.  James Clyburn of South Carolina, a Democrat and the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, said: “That is one word no president ought to apply to himself. That is a word that we ought to be very, very careful about using."

Doug Jones, the Democratic senator for South Carolina, wrote: "No sir! No, Donald Trump: this is NOT a lynching, and shame on you for invoking such a horrific act that was used as a weapon to terrorize and murder African Americans."

There was also criticism from Mr Trump’s own party. Kevin McCarthy, the most senior Republican in the House who is usually a prominent defender of the president, said: “I don’t agree with that language. Pretty simple.”

Tim Scott, the only black Republican senator, likened impeachment to a “political death-row trial” but said that he “wouldn’t use the word lynching”.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, also criticised the president, saying: "Given the history in our country, I would not compare this to a lynching. That was an unfortunate choice of words."

However Mr Trump also had defenders. Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator for South Carolina and confidante of the president, said: “This is a lynching in every sense."

He said the Democratic behaviour amounted to “mob rule”, which is “what lynching is all about”.

Hogan Gidley, the White House deputy press spokesman, sought to disconnect the phrase from its historical context. "The president’s not comparing what‘s happened to him with one of our darkest moments in American history. He’s just not,” he said.

Thousands of African-Americans were killed in lynchings between the late 1880s and 1960s, during a dark period of American history after slavery was abolished but when segregation was in practice.

It is not the first time Mr Trump’s language on race has provoked controversy.  His call for four Democratic congresswomen of colour to “go back” to the countries they came originally from – despite three being born in America – was widely condemned as racist.

In the past he has reportedly called African countries “s--tholes” and likened the influx of migrants into America to an “invasion”.

In a separate development, a key figure in the scandal over Mr Trump’s attempts to get Ukraine to investigate his political rival Joe Biden appeared before the impeachment inquiry yesterday.

Bill Taylor, the charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Kyiv, gave testimony behind closed doors before the congressional committees leading the investigation.

Text messages previously released to the committees had showed how Mr Taylor raised concerns that US aid to Ukraine was being held back to secure assurances that would help Mr Trump politically.

The president has always denied there was a “quid pro quo” in the holding back of almost $400 million of US military assistance.

One Democratic congressman who witnessed the testimony, Andy Levin, said Tuesday was the “most disturbing day” he had experienced in Congress since taking office in January.

Another Democratic congressman in the room called the testimony a "sea change".