Early Tuesday morning, Donald Trump let loose a typically unhinged tweet comparing the Democrats' impeachment inquiry to a 'lynching.'
So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can imp… https://t.co/Q4pOK3kZ4i— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1571745148.0
Trump immediately faced pushback from both sides of the aisle:
Rep. McCarthy: Lynching is “not the language I would use” https://t.co/aYIcGo5zvO https://t.co/mYQuoVIuQK— CBS News (@CBS News) 1571778739.0
For Trump to invoke the word 'lynching' to describe his experience—as the most powerful man on the face of the plan… https://t.co/Y1uY5GuRa6— Beto O'Rourke (@Beto O'Rourke) 1571781943.0
Senate Majority Leader McConnell on President Trump's comparison of the impeachment effort against him to "a lynchi… https://t.co/OYzviAA3oB— MSNBC (@MSNBC) 1571777690.0
Democrats slam Pres. Trump’s comparison of the impeachment inquiry to a “lynching” https://t.co/aYIcGo5zvO https://t.co/tX46l0uzRB— CBS News (@CBS News) 1571778954.0
There was one person, however, who thought it was a perfect choice of words: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
Speaking to reporters, Graham, when asked about Trump's use of the word to describe the impeachment inquiry, said:
"I think that’s pretty well accurate.”
He continued:
"This is a lynching in every sense. This is un-American."
Watch below:
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham defends Trump after the president likened the impeachment investigation to a ‘lyn… https://t.co/Sg2l1mU6Kf— Reuters (@Reuters) 1571778600.0
He later clarified that he felt the impeachment inquiry was a "political lynching."
“Yes, African Americans have [been] lynched. Other people have been lynched throughout history. What does lynching mean? That a mob grabs you, they don’t give you a chance to defend yourself, they don’t tell you what happened to you, they just destroy you. That’s exactly what’s happening in the United States House of Representatives right now.”
But the damage had been done, and people did not hold back their disgust.
No, @LindseyGrahamSC what’s happening to Trump is not a lynching “in every sense.” It is literally not a lynching… https://t.co/C3ODk0ms7L— Shaun King (@Shaun King) 1571758088.0
Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham both think the constitutionally-authorized impeachment of the president is equivale… https://t.co/WJm9G84h46— Keith Boykin (@Keith Boykin) 1571757566.0
Dear @LindseyGrahamSC: Here's a non-exhaustive list of key senses in which impeachment is _not_ a lynching: 1) I… https://t.co/aDE99YHqZe— Steve Vladeck (@Steve Vladeck) 1571756069.0
.@LindseyGrahamSC has adopted @realDonaldTrump's "lynching" metaphor. By the way, there were 164 *real* lynchings i… https://t.co/KlilMKy1up— David Corn (@David Corn) 1571754253.0
Graham's Democratic challenger, Jaime Harrison, wasted no time in rebuking Graham and tried to turn the comment to his advantage.
Jaime Harrison, the African American Democrat running to unseat Lindsey Graham, is now fundraising off of Graham's… https://t.co/ekx4RoB5Oi— Jennifer Bendery (@Jennifer Bendery) 1571775317.0
Former RNC Chair Michael Steele shamed both Trump and Graham with a stark reminder of the true meaning of the word in American history:
@realDonaldTrump and @LindseyGrahamSC this is a lynching. Trump this is not happening to you and it’s pathetic that… https://t.co/HbzVKp8F3s— Michael Steele (@Michael Steele) 1571759293.0