Trump news: President says Muslim congresswoman ‘has tremendous hatred of Israel’ as trade war with China escalates
Donald Trump has been accused of attempting to provoke the Democrats into impeaching him for “political advantage”, allowing him to cultivate his “Witch Hunt” narrative in the wake of the Mueller report and illicit sympathy from voters in time for the 2020 presidential race.
“He certainly seems to be trying and maybe this is his perverse way of dividing us more…He thinks that’s to his political advantage, but it’s certainly not to the country’s advantage,” said Adam Schiff, Democratic chair of the House Intelligence Committee.
The president has meanwhile lashed out at Democrat Rashida Tlaib over comments she made about the Holocaust, claiming she has "tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people," while continuing to play hardball with China over ongoing trade tariff negotiations as far-right Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban flies in to meet him at the White House.
The Michigan Democrat told a Yahoo News podcast that she gets "a calming feeling" when she thinks of "the tragedy of the Holocaust" and how the suffering of her Palestinian ancestors helped in trying to create "a safe haven" for Jews in the new state of Israel.
The remark instantly ignited an online fight, with Republicans incorrectly describing Ms Tlaib's words as reflecting her feelings about the genocide itself that cost millions of lives, including those of 6 million Jews.
It was the latest upheaval over the words of some of the first Muslims in Congress after Ilhan Omar questioned Israel's influence in Washington. Senior Democrats rebuked her, and Ms Omar eventually apologised.
A Democratic leader has instead demanded an apology to Ms Tlaib.
"If you read Rep. Tlaib's comments, it is clear that President Trump and Congressional Republicans are taking them out of context," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland.
He added, “They must stop, and they owe her an apology."
"Obviously I don't think that she hates Israel or hates Jews," Dan Kildee, also a Michigan Democrat, on Fox News. "She's not a hateful person. She's not a bigoted person."
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
