Days after a recording emerged of the president telling his associates to “take her out,” referring to the forced removal of former Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Trump isn’t doing himself any favors in downplaying his administration’s reputation as the first mob-boss presidency. On Sunday, the president went after House Intelligence Chairman and impeachment manager Adam Schiff, the most prominent Democrat pushing for Trump’s removal from the Oval Office. “Shifty Adam Schiff is a corrupt politician, and probably a very sick man,” Trump tweeted on Sunday morning. “He has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!”
Schiff responded on Meet the Press, telling host Chuck Todd that the Sunday morning tweet was just more evidence of a “wrathful and vindictive president.” It wasn’t the first time Trump had apparently threatened a political opponent online during the impeachment process: In November, the president was accused of real-time witness intimidation for tweeting about Marie Yovanovitch during her testimony before the House impeachment inquiry. When Schiff was asked Sunday if he considered the president’s Sunday message to be a threat, he said: “I think it’s intended to be.”
Though the president and other Republican leaders have criticized — or threatened — Schiff for his role as impeachment manager, other GOP lawmakers have commended the California representative for his energetic performance and deft strategy displayed on the Senate floor. On Wednesday, Lindsey Graham gave Schiff a post-trial attaboy, telling him he did a “good job” and that he was “very well spoken.”
