Eugene Scott writes:

President Trump apparently fears an impeachment could be so destructive to his presidency that he has frequently described it in terms of an epic injustice, taking that habit to a new level Tuesday by calling the impeachment efforts a “lynching.” And in doing so, the president has solidified the perception that he is completely insensitive to the United States’ history of racism and violence.

So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2019

“So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights,” he tweeted Tuesday. “All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here — a lynching. But we will WIN!”

As the impeachment inquiry in the House barrels forward, his embrace of victimhood grows more pronounced.

Nearly 4,000 lynchings occurred between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, according to the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that works toward ending excessive punishment, including mass incarceration. Trump is not unfamiliar with facts about the violence committed against black Americans simply because of their ethnic background. He has publicly toured multiple museums dedicated to educating people on the history of black Americans.

“The Civil Rights Museum records the oppression inflicted on the African American community — the fight to end slavery, to end Jim Crow, to gain the right to vote — so that others might live in freedom,” he said in 2017 a day after touring the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. “Today we pay solemn tribute to our heroes of the past and dedicate ourselves to building a future of freedom, equality, justice, peace.”

And Trump’s tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture shortly before he took office began in the history galleries, which start with the global slave trade, easily the most horrific time for black people in this country.

He has even engaged in personal conversations with Republican allies about the history of racism in the United States. In September 2017, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), the only black Republican in the Senate, met with Trump to explain to the president why his comments about the violent protests by white nationalists in Charlottesville enraged so many black Americans.

But Trump’s continued use of language that many black Americans find offensive is not because of ignorance. It is because to Trump, no one has endured more injustice than him. [Continue reading…]

Politico reports:

Many Congressional Republicans are done trying to defend President Donald Trump after he said he was the victim of a lynching on Tuesday — but that doesn’t mean they’re trying to rein him in, either.

Trump’s tweet comparing the impeachment process to a “lynching” set off a firestorm of Democratic criticism but largely a wrist slap from Republicans, who have grown frustrated but accustomed to the president’s inflammatory rhetoric.

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After more than four years of trying to limit the president’s divisive style, asking him to stop tweeting or focus on the economy, the Republican Party has given up any pretense of even trying to rein in the president. [Continue reading…]