Many GOP Lawmakers Reject Trump Calling Impeachment Probe a ‘Lynching’

President’s tweet draws fire from Republicans who nonetheless condemn investigations led by House Democrats.

WASHINGTON—A tweet by President Trump comparing the U.S. House’s impeachment inquiry to a lynching became the latest test for Republicans, as GOP lawmakers seeking to criticize Democrats over the probe instead found themselves again on the defensive because of the president’s rhetoric.

“All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here - a lynching,” Mr. Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning. “But we will WIN!”

More than 4,000 African-Americans were lynched in southern states between 1877 and 1950, according to the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit focused on studying and recognizing the victims of such extrajudicial killings. The crimes were often done as a public spectacle to traumatize black people, the group says, and those killed often weren’t guilty of any crime.

Democrats immediately condemned the president’s remark. “For him to say something like that is disgusting,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D., Calif.).

Many Republicans also questioned the use of the word. Speaking at his weekly news conference with Senate GOP leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said: “Given the history in our country, I would not compare this to lynching.” He added, “That was an unfortunate choice of words. It is an unfair process.”

“That’s not the language I would use,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), a staunch defender of the president.

“I think we’ve already said, you know, you could tone down the tweets and everything else,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.), a Trump ally. Like other Republican lawmakers on Tuesday, he said he is sympathetic to the president’s anger over the inquiry but balked at the term lynching.