Democrats continue to distance themselves from inflammatory comments about Trump’s impeachment made by a freshman congresswoman. Rashida Tlaib was recorded saying “we’re going in there” and “we’re going to impeach the motherf-----!’ Tlaib did stand by her remarks saying that she fully supports the impeachment. These comments were made during a progressive event following the swearing-in ceremony of the new Congress. Tlaib said that she ran for office with impeachment as one of her key promises adding that she doesn’t see anything wrong with the language used to express her sentiment. The congresswoman from Michigan said that if her grandmother was alive, she would have said it the way she did.
Some Democratic lawmakers have also come to the defense of Tlaib noting that her comments weren’t any different or worse than remarks already made by the president. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of the ranking members of the Democratic Party in Congress, made it clear that impeachment is not an inevitability. Pelosi also said that the Democratic Party will wait to see what the Mueller probe yields before making any move. In addition to this, House Majority leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer, said that any talk of impeachment at the moment is a “distraction.” He maintained that the Mueller probe remains the most important determinant of whether the process of impeachment will be initiated or not.
Adam Schiff, another high ranking member of the Democratic Party in Congress and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, also weighed in on the matter adding that the Party at the moment isn’t pushing for impeachment at all. Schiff did, however, note that Tlaib represents a constituent that has every right to be angry with Trump. But Democratic Senator from Alabama Dough Jones said that the kind of language used by Tlaib was uncalled for. Jones said that even though the president himself has been known to use this kind of language, it’s still not an excuse to normalize it.
President Donald Trump responded to Tlaib’s comments saying that she had “dishonored her family and herself” by using that kind of language in front of everyone who was there. But some Democrats have said that this kind of language is a reflection of the passion that new representatives are bringing after the midterms. Many argue that this is perhaps the most diverse Democratic caucus in a while and it’s expected that this kind of passion will be there. Besides, the progressive event where these comments were made was private and many feel that Tlaib had every right to use the kind of language that she wanted.
Acting Chief of Staff for the Trump administration Mick Mulvaney also seemed to appreciate that there were some Democratic lawmakers who were distancing themselves from these comments. Mulvaney defended the President saying that he doesn’t recall any incident when Trump used “coarse” language privately. He also argued that the president is not to blame for what appears to be the normalization of such rhetoric in US politics at the moment.
