Trump Sunday morning tweet roundup: Read ’em and weep
Donald Trump spent his Sunday morning as he has most mornings since his impeachment was voted through by the House of Representatives — at least any morning when he wasn’t ordering the assassination of Iranian generals or playing golf — tweeting and retweeting his laments at the unfairness of those bad and nasty Democrats who had the nerve to try to hold his poor innocent self to account for his actions and praising his own decisive actions in ordering the assassination of an Iranian military leader.
After warming up his Twitter thumbs on a couple of quick posts congratulating the winners of two of yesterday’s tennis and football competitions — perhaps Fox News was in the middle of a sports segment when he tuned in this morning — Trump alternated between pity-party moans about impeachment and portraying his war crime against Iran as an example of his strong and brave leadership.
He began with a warning to the Iranian government, asking them to respect human rights and international law in a way that he himself had no compunction in ignoring when he ordered the killing of that country’s head of its Revolutionary Guards forces.
To the leaders of Iran – DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
The line about “let reporters roam free!” coming from an administration that hasn’t held a daily White House press briefing since last March was sure to inspire chortles from both the U.S. media and the Iranian government alike.
Next, Trump must have noticed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was scheduled to appear on ABC‘s This Week Sunday morning news program, so he decided to suggest a few snarky questions for host George Stephanopolous to ask his guest.
George @GStephanopoulos, ask Crazy Nancy why she allowed Adam “Shifty” Schiff to totally make up my conversation with the Ukrainian President & read his false words to Congress and the world, as though I said it? He got caught! Ask why hearing was most unfair & biased in history?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
The president may be resorting to calling the House Speaker “Crazy Nancy,” but she isn’t the one who is being impeached, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Schiff’s paraphrasing of Trump’s supposedly “perfect” phone call shows exactly who the one who has been caught is.
Trump’s evaluation of the fairness of his impeachment hearings is largely due to his displeasure of the results despite his unprecedented attempts to obstruct the investigation.
It was back to Iran for the next Twitter missive from the president as he attacked former Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry, one of the architects of the Iran nuclear deal that he torpedoed, leading to the disastrous foreign policy situation he now finds himself in.
John Kerry got caught essentially admitting that funds given ridiculously to Iran were used to fund attacks on the USA. Only a complete fool would have given that 150 Billion Dollars Plus to Iran. They then went on a Middle East Rampage! @foxandfriends @PeteHegseth
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
Only a complete fool would continue to peddle the false right-wing narrative that the money that went to Iran after they signed the now-defunct nuclear deal wasn’t their own funds that had been frozen and held hostage by the U.S. after the 1979 Islamic revolution that deposed the U.S.-backed Shah.
Trump then jumped from his shout out to Fox and Friends to quoting praise he received from another outlet in the Rupert Murdoch media empire, The New York Post.
Michael Goodwin, New York Post: “Trump’s peace through strength philosophy is what America needs. His (John Kerry) claim bears no relation to reality. The Agreement didn’t create opportunities for America & other signatories to confront Iran’s malign activities. It overlooked….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
….discretion, and only as a last resort.” Thank you to the great Michael Goodwin. Could not have said it better myself!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
Despite the obvious mischaracterization of the president’s actions and motivations by Mr. Goodwin, Trump at least said one true thing in this thread — he could not have said it better himself.
By this point, most people would have finished their breakfast and moved on to the day’s work, but the president still had more democrats to malign, more Fox News hosts to retweet. Here is a sampling of his propaganda effort, so obviously designed to convince his minority of followers that it was the Democrats’ impeachment judgment that was illegal and wrong rather than his own extortion attempts towards Ukraine and the subsequent coverup attempts:
“Pelosi has made a mockery of Impeachment. Her Articles are so weak. But more importantly, she thought she could extort the Senate. She couldn’t.” @GreggJarrett @foxandfriends The Do Nothing Democrats are really run by the Radical Left. Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
Great idea. This phony Impeachment Hoax should not even be allowed to proceed. Did NOTHING wrong. Just a partisan vote. Zero Republicans. Never happened before! https://t.co/47oV6z4RQc
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
Why did Nervous Nancy allow corrupt politician Shifty Schiff to lie before Congress? He must be a Witness, and so should she!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? Read the Transcripts! A totally partisan Hoax, never happened before. House Republicans voted 195-0, with three Dems voting with the Republicans. Very unfair to tens of millions of voters!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
Trump can bleat all he wants, the stigma is permanently attached to his name in the history books due to his own bad behavior.
We’ve read the transcripts, and the fact remains that the transcripts, along with those few current and former administration officials who defied his order to unconstitutionally refuse to testify before the House impeachment inquiry, have provided more than enough evidence of his guilt — despite his protestations and obstruction — to convince a majority of Americans that he should be removed from office.
Remember — as Trump apparently doesn’t — that those tens of millions of voters who chose him as their candidate were fewer than those who voted for Hillary Clinton and would feel that his removal from office would restore the true democratic results of the last presidential election.
Now if only the Republicans in the Senate had the courage to follow the Constitution rather than toady to their political patron, that will of the majority — the very basis of democracy — could be realized.
Such was the president’s use of his morning “executive time” on this January Sunday. Expect further Trump bloviation as the day progresses.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
