President Trump injected racial overtones into the House impeachment inquiry Tuesday by comparing the Democratic-led investigation into his handling of U.S. policy toward Ukraine to a “lynching.” The highest-ranking African American in Congress warned Trump about making the comparison. Lynchings, often hangings, historically were mostly used by whites against black men and mostly in the South beginning in the late 19th century amid rising racial tensions in the U.S. By comparing the impeachment process to a lynching, Trump is also likening Democrats to a lynch mob. “That is one word no president ought to apply to himself,” Clyburn said on CNN after the president’s tweet was read to him. “That is a word that we ought to be very, very careful about using.”Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) called on Trump to delete the tweet. A whistleblower’s complaint that Trump was attempting to use his office for personal political gain during a July 25 phone conversation with Ukraine’s president led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to open the impeachment inquiry.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 22, 2019 13:18 UTC