Donald Trump Is Having a Full-on Impeachment Meltdown on Twitter

Donald Trump sent out an absolutely mind-boggling 142 tweets or retweets Wednesday, according to the Trump-tracking account @FactbaseFeed. It was his most prolific day of tweeting, beating his previous record of 123 tweets and retweets. Wednesday was also the first day of Democrats’ opening remarks in the Senate impeachment trial. Do we think this is a coincidence? No, we do not.

Trump spent the day tweeting praise for himself and attacks on the Democratic presidential primary candidates. Many more tweets railed against the impeachment trial, including repeating GOP talking point lies about the process.

Trump seems to have forgotten that it was him and his administration that blocked those witnesses from appearing in the House, and his toadies in the Senate who are blocking the witnesses now.

More than a dozen of his Wednesday tweets were retweets of Fox News hosts and GOP lawmakers lobbing insults at Adam Schiff specifically. Schiff even incorporated one of Trump’s (oft-repeated) tweets into his argument, saying he took Trump’s advice to “READ THE TRANSCRIPT”–that document that he thinks clears him of all suspicion but which actually only highlights both the crimes it displays and the obvious omissions.

Trump’s Twitter meltdown does more than just shine a spotlight on his own fragility–although it certainly does do that.

Most of Trump’s tweets from Wednesday and the day since seem to be quotes from Fox News hosts, which is pretty concerning since at least a few of them don’t really seem to understand what’s happening.

The other thing Trump’s nonstop tweeting and quoting does is make it clear to Republicans that he’s watching these proceedings closely. That puts them in the uncomfortable position of trying to get that kiss of approval from President Daddy while also not angering their constituents with an obvious sham of a trial.

“The truth is going to come out,” Adam Schiff said to the Senators Wednesday evening. “The only question is: Do you want to hear it now? Do you want to know the full truth now?” It’s a hard question to answer with Trump breathing down their necks, but the Republicans dug themselves into this hole. They can get themselves out.

Back in December, Republicans in the House and the Senate expressed concern about Trump possibly tweeting through the impeachment trial. Sen. John Cornyn said it would be “optimal” for Trump to stay quiet because they “don’t need a bunch of distractions.” Lindsay Graham said Trump “has a right to express his grievances but if I were him I would … keep a low profile.” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito advised Trump to “Tweet less, smile more.”

Trump, obviously, did not take any of that advice.

(image: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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