Donald Trump Says Rashida Tlaib 'Dishonored Herself' and 'Her Family' by Cursing and Calling for His Impeachment
President Donald Trump said Friday that Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib "dishonored herself" and "dishonored her family" for saying that "we're going to go in there, and we're going to impeach the motherf***er," about the president.
President Trump, who once said on tape that he wanted to grab a woman by her "pussy," called the freshman Michigan congresswoman's language "highly disrespectful to the US of A" during a Friday afternoon press conference in the White House Rose Garden.
Tlaib made her comments Thursday night, hours after she was sworn in to the House of Representatives. Her language was widely condemned by Republicans, but Democratic leadership downplayed its significance.
"I probably have a generational reaction to it, but in any event I'm not in the censorship business," Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC's Joy Reid. "I don't like that language. I wouldn't use that language, but I don't think it's any worse than what the president has said," she said. And while the congresswoman's comments were relatively benign, said Pelosi, the president's comments have the ability to "impact people's lives."
The president explained Friday that he could not be impeached because "you can't impeach someone who is doing a great job," and because there was "no collusion" with Russia. He also said that Pelosi assured him that she had no intention of impeaching him.
Pelosi has repeatedly said that impeachment is not a Democratic priority in the House.
Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted out similar comments, writing that "they only want to impeach me because they know they can't win in 2020, too much success!" and "How do you impeach a president who has won perhaps the greatest election of all time, done nothing wrong (no Collusion with Russia, it was the Dems that Colluded), had the most successful first two years of any president, and is the most popular Republican in party history 93%?"
The United States Constitution states that the president can be removed from office if they are impeached for, and convicted of "treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors." The constitution mentions nothing about doing a "great job" or party popularity.
Tlaib refused to apologize for her comments on Friday. "I will always speak truth to power. #unapologeticallyMe," she tweeted. "This is not just about Donald Trump. This is about all of us. In the face of this constitutional crisis, we must rise."
Special counsel Robert Mueller is currently investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, he is expected to release a comprehensive report as early as next month.
