Fury as Trump compares impeachment inquiry to 'lynching' – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

Donald Trump referred to impeachment proceedings against him as a “lynching”in a Tuesday morning tweet, sparking condemnation for using such a racially charged word to describe his political predicament.

“So some day,” the presidentwrote, “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 tweet fit with Trump’s history ofracistremarksand his strategic (use of cruelty) , and some saw in it a (political strategy) . The tweet drew a chorus of outrage.

“That is one word that no president ought to apply to himself,” the South Carolina representative James Clyburn, the House majority whip, said on CNN. “I’m not just a politician… I’m a product of the south. I know the history of that word. ”

The California representative Karen Bass, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told CNN that Trump’s “lynching” tweet was consistent with his pattern of throwing out “racial bombs” to give “red meat” to his base when his back his against the wall, network correspondent Manu Rajusaid.

“You think this impeachment is a LYNCHING?”Tweeted the Illinois representative Bobby Rush. “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you know how many people who look like me have been lynched, since the inception of this country, by people who look like you. Delete this tweet. ”

The Democratic presidential hopeful Julián Castrowrote: “It’s beyond shameful to use the word ‘lynching’ to describe being held accountable for your actions.”

“Lynching ?!”Tweetedthe New York Time columnist Charles Blow. “Sir, don’t you DARE invoke the darkness of America’s viciousness toward black people to defend your corruption. How dare you?!… ”

“When the polls get tough, Potus turns to race,”TweetedJulian Zelizer, a historian at Princeton University.

The impeachment inquiry being run by Democrats who control the House centers on Trump’s attempts to get Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.

Accordingto the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), from 1882 to 1968, “4, 743 lynchings ”- that is, extrajudicial murders -“ occurred in the United States. Of these people that were lynched 3, 446 were black. ”

“These numbers seem large,”the NAACP added, “but it is known that not all of the lynchings were ever recorded.”

America’sfirst lynching memorial and museumwas opened in Montgomery, Alabama, last year.