On Saturday, CNN’s Kristen Holmes revealed that Republican lawmakers are growing increasingly frustrated with how President Donald Trump is handling the impeachment inquiry, Raw Story reports.
According to Holmes, GOP lawmakers want the president to develop a coherent messaging strategy to combat impeachment, instead of simply insulting his political opponents via Twitter.
“I want to be clear, there are Republicans on Capitol Hill who have been begging the White House to come up with some sort of communication strategy,” she reported.
Adamantly opposed to setting up a so-called war room, the president believes that he can handle the matter all by himself, according to Holmes.
Trump, the reporter said, pointing to the president’s Twitter attacks, “considers himself a one-man rapid response team.”
Despite the president’s opposition, according to the reporter, his Republican allies are looking for ways to put together a “cohesive” message and fight back against House Democrats.
“He thinks that he is the right messenger for this, but some people outside, allies included, really think they need to expand here, they need to have a separate department like President Clinton had during his impeachment inquiry that deals with communication.”
It remains to be seen whether Trump can be persuaded to set up a war room, but judging by his public statements that will be a daunting task.
Earlier this week, when reporters asked him about putting together a legal team, the president pushed back against the idea , proclaiming, “I’m the team.”
Instead of developing a coherent strategy, as his Republican allies have been suggesting, the president has relied on attacking Democrats and threatening that the economy will crash if they dare impeach him.
Those close to the president have resisted GOP pleas as well. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham recently dismissed the need for a war room, arguing that it is not needed because Trump has done nothing wrong during his contacts with the government of Ukraine.
Trump says he doesn’t have a team helping him with the impeachment inquiry: “I’m the team.” pic.twitter.com/zzbkh748Ok
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) October 26, 2019
That is not what Democrats in the House of Representatives believe, however.
According to House Democrats, Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. The president threatened to cut military aid to the eastern European country unless its authorities comply with his request, pro-impeachment Democrats claim.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, but some reports suggest that he is not satisfied with how some of his closest allies are handling the probe. Trump is reportedly frustrated with White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who appeared to reveal during a press conference that the commander-in-chief had a quid pro quo agreement with Ukraine.
