Trump compares impeachment drive to 'lynching'

President Trump called the House Democrats’ push for impeachment a “lynching” Tuesday as he called on Republicans to rally around him amid the inquiry.

Mr. Trump used the incendiary language as he tested a new line of attack, reasoning that Democrats should be careful what they wish for because he feels they are watering down the standard for impeachment.

“So some day, 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,” he wrote. “All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here — a lynching. But we will WIN!”

Washington observers winced at Mr. Trump’s use of the word, since it evoked horrific crimes against black Americans in the U.S. South.

“It is not a lynching. Let’s not start dropping words that are important with real historic meaning where we water them down to nothing,” conservative commentator Erick Erickson tweeted.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, South Carolina Democrat who is African American, said the president “has always been pretty loose with his words, and this is another indication of that.”

“I really believe this man is prone to inflammatory statements,” he told CNN, “and that is one word that no president ought to apply to himself.”

Rep. Bobby L. Rush, Illinois Democrat, was more emphatic.

“You think this impeachment is a LYNCHING? What the hell is wrong with you?” he tweeted.