Trump news: President rants about impeachment and Iowa, as Democrats prepare for first real 2020 test
Donald Trump has lashed out in a series of tweets urging Republicans in Iowa to caucus, and questioning where the whistle blower is who sparked the investigation that led to his impeachment (in spite of Republican refusal to allow further witnesses to be brought before the Senate).
The president had been facing fresh ridicule after tweeting his congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs after they won Super Bowl LIV by saying they represented “the Great State of Kansas... so very well” when the team is, in fact, based in Missouri (though half of Kansas City is indeed in Kansas).
The president aired two new 2020 campaign adverts during the big game and recorded a pre-match interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity in which he attacked rival Michael Bloomberg over his short stature, prompting a spokeswoman for the former New York mayor to hit back venomously, declaring: “He is a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity, and his spray-on tan.”
Mr Trump's Senate impeachment trial resumed on Monday, with both sides offering closing arguments. In Iowa, Democrats and Republicans are caucusing today to choose the first victors of the 2020 primary season. It marks the first test for Democrats, but you shouldn't expect fireworks on the Republican side of things.
The president’s campaign and Mr Bloomberg’s ran duelling, multimillion-dollar ads during Sunday night’s game just before the crucial vote, with both spending an estimated $10 million for 60 seconds of air time, which Mr Trump used to purchase two 30-second spots.
Mr Trump’s first featured the story of Alice Marie Johnson, a nonviolent drug offender whose life sentence Trump commuted after reality TV star Kim Kardashian West championed her case. The ad showed footage of the emotional moment when Johnson was released from prison and reunited with her family.
“My heart is just bursting with gratitude,” she tells the camera. “I want to thank President Donald John Trump. Hallelujah!”
“Thanks to President Trump, people like Alice are getting a second chance,” the ad’s text reads, adding: “Politicians talk about criminal justice reform. President Trump got it done.”
A second Trump ad — which ran after the game had ended, instead of during the game as his campaign had said — argued that, “Under President Trump, America is stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever before.”
Mr Bloomberg, whose spot was scheduled to air during the second half of the game, also chose an emotional subject, featuring a grieving mother who lost her son to gun violence. George Kemp Jr., who dreamed of one day playing in the NFL, was only 20 when he was fatally shot in 2013.
Mr Bloomberg is a longtime backer of what he calls commonsense gun legislation and has spent hundreds of millions of dollars since his tenure as New York mayor to combat gun violence.
In the Fox interview, Mr Trump mocked Mr Bloomberg’s height and accused him of making a special request for a box to stand on if he qualifies for future presidential debates. Bloomberg’s campaign denies that is the case.
“Why should he get a box to stand on?” Trump asked. “Why should he be entitled to that, really? Then does that mean everyone else gets a box?”
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
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