President Trump on Friday called his impeachment a “total political hoax,” and said it should be expunged, just days after the Senate voted to acquit him on both charges.
“It was a total political hoax,” Trump said from the White House lawn Friday morning before traveling to North Carolina, saying it should be completely erased.
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Trump went on to blast the Democrats.
“There is a lot of evil on that side,” Trump said. “They’ve gone crazy.”
The president and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have been sparring all week—in the run-up to and aftermath of his acquittal. Following his State of the Union address Tuesday, the speaker tore up the pages of his speech in full view of the cameras, shocking lawmakers.
“He shredded the truth with his speech, he’s shredding the Constitution with his conduct and I shredded his state of mind address," she said Thursday.
On Friday, Trump claimed she broke the law.
He added: “It is an official document, it's illegal what she did. She broke the law. I thought it was disrespectful to the chamber, to the country, and look, I got very high marks on the speech and I didn’t know she did it until I was walking out and some of the congressmen and women were saying can you believe she did it—but I didn’t know she did it.”
The House on Thursday turned back a resolution condemning Pelosi's actions.
The Senate on Wednesday acquitted the president on both articles of impeachment—charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress—after a weeks-long trial.
In the final vote, all Democratic senators supported convicting the president of both articles including swing-vote moderate Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Doug Jones, D-Ala.
The only defection was on the abuse of power charge from Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Romney, though, voted not guilty on the obstruction charge.
The inquiry and trial came after Trump was accused of withholding aid to Ukraine as leverage to pressure the country to launch an investigation involving former Vice President Joe Biden and his family’s dealings there. Democrats alleged he abused his power to investigate a political rival, considering Biden’s 2020 presidential bid. Trump denied any quid pro quo and repeatedly described his conversations with Ukraine’s president as “perfect.”
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“It’s very sad what happened with the Bidens,” Trump said Friday. “Sad how he’s doing, and doing in the polls.”
The president went on to criticize Democrats for Monday’s botched Iowa caucuses, saying, “They couldn’t even take a simple tabulation, but yet they are telling you how to run the country and run health care.”
“All the money the Democrats spent and votes are fried,” he said, touting his overwhelming GOP Iowa caucus victory.
When asked whether he viewed former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg or Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who both are claiming victory in Iowa, as more of a threat to his re-election campaign, the president said: “I view everybody as a threat.”
Meanwhile, the president rejected reports that he was replacing his acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney with Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a staunch defender of the administration.
“I have a great relationship with Mick,” he said. “It’s false.”