Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Bronwen Weatherby

Witchcraft, crusades and prayers: Five takeaways from Donald Trump's ranting letter on eve of impeachment

Donald Trump has penned a six-page letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi making it very clear that he is not happy about his impeachment.

In the bizarre rant sent on Tuesday on the eve of his indictment, Mr Trump described the process as a "crusade" while also saying he has been treated worse than those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.

After the letter was published, the Mayor of Salem Kim Driscoll hit out at Mr Trump because of his comments, saying: "Learn some history."

There is a lot to unpack in the letter so, here are five takeaways from it.

1. "This impeachment represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by Democrat Lawmakers, unequaled in nearly two and a half centuries of American legislative history."

image

This is a line Mr Trump and his supporters have been repeating over the last few months. However, impeachment is built into the constitution of America.

Also, unprecedented? Perhaps not. Two former presidents have been impeached by the House.

It's democratic lawmakers not "Democrat Lawmakers".

2. "Even worse than offending the Founding Fathers, you are offending Americans of faith by continually saying you pray for the President when you know this statement is not true, unless it is meant in a negative sense."

image

Mr Trump deploys a lot of different tactics and heated words in the letter.

From expressing outrage in saying the Speaker is "declaring open war on American Democracy", to trying to invoke fear with a "how dare you?" construction and even attempting to extract guilt by saying "It is a terrible thing you are doing, but you will have to live with it, not I!"

But here, he goes one step further in questioning the integrity of Ms Pelosi's words, and also her faith.

Ms Pelosi has repeatedly said she prays for Mr Trump but he clearly does not believe her.

It is unclear how he knows for certain that Ms Pelosi is not including him in her prayers but, his suspicion is that if Ms Pelosi does then she must be praying for his demise instead of his redemption.

3. "More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials."

image

Mr Trump claims here that he is one of few who could withstand such punishment and then claims the witch trials that took place in 17th Century Massachusetts were fairer than the impeachment process.

The trials claimed the lives of fourteen women and five men who were hung in the colonial state.

Most were convicted using "spectral evidence" - evidence where a witness has had a dream or apparition about the accused engaging in witchcraft.

4. "I write this letter to you for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record. 100 years from now, when people look back at this affair, I want them to understand it, and learn from it, so that it can never happen to another president again."

image

Instead of reading up on his history, Mr Trump intends to make it.

The US President claims in 100 years that historians will pour over the letter and gain the truth from it.

Historians will undoubtedly examine it, but they might not conclude what he would like them to.

5. "You have cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, impeachment!"

image

Here, Mr Trump accuses Ms Pelosi of denigrating impeachment while himself calling it a "very ugly word".

This is a snapshot of the letter:

(Whitehouse)

The full letter is available on The White House public website.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.