Laura Ingraham: ‘Unforced error’ for Trump ‘to ridicule Adam Schiff’s name’

Laura Ingraham called President Trump’s ridiculing of Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) name “an unforced error” during her Monday night program on Fox News, arguing the rhetoric detracts from his administration’s accomplishments.

Trump on Sunday referred to Schiff, who is likely to be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee next year and appears on cable television frequently to criticize the president, as “Little Adam Schitt” in a tweet.

So funny to see little Adam Schitt (D-CA) talking about the fact that Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was not approved by the Senate, but not mentioning the fact that Bob Mueller (who is highly conflicted) was not approved by the Senate!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2018

“Being tough is great, we all love it. Tough, strong president. You don’t have to ridicule Adam Schiff’s name,” Ingraham said. “It’s an unforced error. There’s no reason to do that.”

“I’m not going to harp on it, but it detracts from all the progress, economic progress,” she continued. “The stuff he’s doing that is good stuff. There’s no reason for it.”

{mosads}Earlier on Sunday, Schiff on ABC’s “This Week” indicated that Democrats would challenge the appointment of acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. Democrats have criticized Whitaker for speaking out against special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe before his appointment, and they have argued he should not serve as acting attorney general because he had not gone through Senate confirmation for his earlier post as the attorney general’s chief of staff.

Whitaker was appointed by Trump after Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced out of office one day after Republicans lost the House in the midterm elections. Sessions had been repeatedly attacked by the president for his recusal from overseeing the Mueller probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has argued that Mueller was not confirmed to be special counsel.

“Don’t tell me about Whitaker, because Mueller was not Senate confirmed, and Whitaker was, actually,” the president said earlier this month.

Mueller was appointed to his role by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a Trump appointee. He had previously been confirmed by the Senate as FBI director, a position he held from 2001 to 2013.

Whitaker was confirmed by the Senate more than a decade ago to serve as a U.S. attorney in Iowa.

The administration says he does not need to be confirmed to serve as acting attorney general because the president has the power to appoint him under the Vacancies Reform Act.