Trump cheers Republican ‘warriors,’ says Dems have ‘no case’ to impeach him

President Trump on Friday cheered Republican lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee for their efforts to defend him during a lengthy impeachment hearing Thursday, calling them “warriors” while asserting that Democrats have “no case at all” to impeach him.

Trump also claimed House Democrats “wanted out” of the hearing, apparently referring to Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler’s (D-N.Y.) decision to abruptly end the hearing late Thursday night and postpone a vote on articles of impeachment against Trump until Friday morning.

“The Republicans House members were fantastic yesterday. It always helps to have a much better case, in fact the Dems have no case at all, but the unity & sheer brilliance of these Republican warriors, all of them, was a beautiful sight to see,” Trump tweeted early Friday. “Dems had no answers and wanted out!”

The Republicans House members were fantastic yesterday. It always helps to have a much better case, in fact the Dems have no case at all, but the unity & sheer brilliance of these Republican warriors, all of them, was a beautiful sight to see. Dems had no answers and wanted out!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2019

Trump later branded Democrats the party of “lies and deception” and claimed polls have gone “through the roof in favor of No Impeachment, especially with Swing States and Independents in Swing States.” 

Poll numbers have gone through the roof in favor of No Impeachment, especially with Swing States and Independents in Swing States. People have figured out that the Democrats have no case, it is a total Hoax. Even Pelosi admitted yesterday that she began this scam 2 1/2 years ago!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2019

Polling on impeachment has remained largely static amid Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, with the American public remaining largely divided over whether Trump should be impeached. Some polls unveiled in late November suggested impeachment was losing support among independents after House Democrats held public hearings with witnesses.  

{mosads}Thursday’s Judiciary Committee hearing, which lasted more than 14 hours, was marked by partisan infighting over impeachment articles drafted by Democrats over Trump’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate a political rival. House Democrats are seeking to charge Trump with abusing his office in his dealings with Ukraine and obstructing Congress.

Democrats say they have clear evidence Trump used a White House meeting and aid to Ukraine to pressure Kyiv to launch politically motivated investigations, while Republicans have dismissed the allegations as not having the facts to back them up and accused Democrats of a partisan effort to impeach Trump.

Trump on Friday morning insisted he had done “nothing wrong” and said Democrats were “crazy” to move forward with impeachment, citing the strong jobs numbers, efforts to rebuild the U.S. military and other purported accomplishments of his administration.

Democrats knocked down repeated efforts by Republican members to defang or alter the articles with their own amendments on Thursday. 

Nadler announced just before midnight Thursday that the committee would postpone the vote on advancing the articles until 10 a.m. Friday, outraging Republicans who accused him of not notifying other members and seeking more time before television cameras.

The panel is widely expected to approve the two articles in a vote along party lines on Friday morning.

Trump tweeted throughout Thursday’s hearing, often retweeting Republican accounts railing against the inquiry. Trump set a personal record for use his of Twitter on Thursday, sharing more than 120 tweets or retweets in a 24-hour span. 

Updated at 9:49 a.m.