Trump flails wildly at ‘lowlife’ enemies as Democrats increase pressure on impeachment

In bad-tempered public appearances and foul-mouthed tweets the president dodges questions and slurs opponents

Donald Trump lashed out at the Democratic Party and the “corrupt media” during two angry public appearances at the White House and a series of incendiary tweets, as top Democrats warned his administration not to try to block their impeachment inquiry.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside the president of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, who at times appeared visibly uncomfortable, Mr Trump attacked Nancy Pelosi, the US speaker of the House, and Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee.

Mr Trump claimed a phone call he had with his Ukrainian counterpart in July was “perfect” after it provoked an official impeachment inquiry against him, and suggested Mr Schiff should be investigated “for treason” for claiming otherwise.

He also called a whistleblower who filed a complaint about the call a “spy”, repeating demands he made throughout the week that his administration should be provided access to the anonymous official, who is thought to be a member of the US intelligence community previously assigned to the White House.

“This country has to find out who that person was, because that person is a spy in my opinion,” he said.

Mr Schiff’s committee has launched an investigation into the Ukraine scandal, and alleged Mr Trump abused his power by seemingly urging Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to launch a corruption investigation into one of his 2020 political rivals, Joe Biden.

He compared him unfavourably to secretary of state Mike Pompeo, saying: “We don’t call him shifty Schiff for nothing, he’s a shifty, dishonest guy, who by the way, was critical of one of the great secretaries of states, graduated No. 1 in his class at West Point, graduated one of the top in his class at Harvard Law School – the most honourable person,” Mr Trump said. “You know, there’s an expression, [Mr Schiff] couldn’t carry [Mr Pompeo’s] ‘blank’ strap, I won’t say it because they’ll say it was so terrible to say, but that guy couldn’t carry his ‘blank’ strap, do you understand that?”

President Donald Trump remonstrates with Reuters reporter Jeff Mason after being pressed on a question about Ukraine at a press conference at the White House (AP) (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Later, at a press conference with Mr Niinisto, the president claimed that Mr Schiff had helped the whistleblower write the report. He was responding to a story in the New York Times that claimed the intelligence officer had given Mr Schiff advance warning of his complaint about Mr Trump’s behaviour during the Ukraine call. CNN quoted an attorney for the whistleblower saying Mr Schiff had “absolutely not” helped draft the complaint.

The president grew angry after he was pressed by Reuters reporter Jeff Mason about what exactly he wanted from Mr Zelensky. After giving a rambling answer and being asked again, Mr Trump paused before saying: “Are you talking to me? Listen, listen. You ready? We have the president of Finland. Ask him a question.” Pressed again, he said: “Did you hear me? Did you hear me? Ask him a question.”

When Mason did ask the Finnish president a question Mr Trump immediately interrupted and answered it himself, leaving Mr Niinisto to say: “But I think the question is for me.”

Just before the president held his Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, Ms Pelosi and Mr Schiff conducted a joint press conference and warned his recent comments were amounting to “an incitement of violence”.

Mr Trump may not “recognise how dangerous his statements are”, Ms Pelosi told reporters.

“We’re not fooling around here,” Mr Schiff added, saying that any effort on the part of the White House to interfere with his committee’s investigation would be deemed evidence of obstruction. Mr Pompeo had said demands for five members of staff to appear before House committees in the coming days were “unfeasible”. Two of the five – the former US envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, and the former ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch – have agreed to appear.

The president has spent recent days lashing out at the whistleblower and White House officials who reportedly gave them information to include in their complaint, telling a group of his staff at the United Nations last week: “The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently.”

During his Oval Office appearance on Wednesday, Mr Trump referred to Ms Pelosi and Mr Schiff as “the do nothing Democrats” and said they should focus on issues impacting the US like prescription drug prices and homelessness rather than impeachment.

He also issued fresh attacks just before the meeting on Twitter, saying the Democrats were wasting their time on “BULLSH**”.

“Adam Schiff should only be so lucky to have the brains, honor and strength of secretary of state Mike Pompeo,” Mr Trump wrote. “For a lowlife like Schiff, who completely fabricated my words and read them to Congress as though they were said by me, to demean a First in Class at West Point, is SAD!”

His tweets in defence of Mr Pompeo came after the US secretary of state confirmed he was listening in on the controversial phone call with Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky, after previously declining to admit he was even aware of the conversations in an interview with ABC.

The president appeared to be tweeting about the Democrats’ joint press conference in real-time, writing in a separate tweet: “Nancy Pelosi just said that she is interested in lowering prescription drug prices & working on the desperately needed USMCA.”

“She is incapable of working on either,” he continued. “It is just camouflage for trying to win an election through impeachment. The Do Nothing Democrats are stuck in mud!”