To defend himself against the impeachment inquiry,President Trump lashed out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a tweet early on Tuesday morning.
Trump weighed in on whether voters should decide his fate rather than Congress after Pelosi addressed that same argument against impeachment in a statement earlier Monday.
Trump tweeted that Pelosi said “it is dangerous to let the voters decide Trump’s fate” — a comment that, if true, would bolster the “coup” narrative he’s been pushing.
Trump is accused of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, one of the leading contenders in the Democratic presidential primary, and his son, Hunter.
He is also accused of asking Zelensky to investigate a debunked conspiracy theory about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
In his tweet, Trump suggested the quote about the 2020 election was made by Pelosi, but it appears the president actually lifted the misquote from Fox News chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel.
Emmanuel. Just after 11 p.m. Monday, tweeted “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi circulated a memo to Democrats tonight telling them it would be dangerous to let voters decide President Trump’s fate when it comes to the Ukraine investigation.”
Nancy Pelosi just stated that “it is dangerous to let the voters decide Trump’s fate.” @FoxNews In other words, she thinks I’m going to win and doesn’t want to take a chance on letting the voters decide. Like Al Green, she wants to change our voting system. Wow, she’s CRAZY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2019
Late Monday, Emanuel said: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi circulated a memo to Democrats tonight telling them it would be dangerous to let voters decide President Trump’s fate when it comes to the Ukraine investigation.”
Pelosi, in fact, responded to the White House releasing the call memo with a stern statement saying the document “confirms that the President engaged in behavior that undermines the integrity of our elections, the dignity of the office he holds and our national security. The President has tried to make lawlessness a virtue in America and now is exporting it abroad.”
Trump keeps adding details to his imaginary tale about Pelosi being furious when she saw how underwhelming the text of Trump's call was.
In an interview with Dan Bongino, Trump said, "I've heard that Nancy Pelosi blasted them. She said, 'You can't impeach a man on this call!'" pic.twitter.com/G1kKMOqwMx
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 18, 2019