We’re at war with these sick people: Trump in video
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump called his struggle with Democrats threatening impeachment a “war,” a video of comments that he expected to remain private showed on Friday.
“We’re at war. These people are sick,” Trump says in the video obtained by Bloomberg. He was speaking at a closed-door gathering with US diplomats in New York on Thursday and apparently filmed by one of the people attending. The event was held in the wake of the Democrats’ decision to launch an impeachment investigation into Trump’s alleged attempt to arm-twist the Ukrainian president into providing dirt on one of his main 2020 election rivals, Joe Biden.
The recording of the event, part of which was first published by the LA Times, showed Trump suggesting that whoever gave compromising information to the whistleblower was “close to a spy.” He went on to say that “spies and treason” used to be handled “a little differently than we do now.”
While that comment prompted chuckles from the crowd, it has since been criticised by Trump’s opponents as being a veiled threat to the safety of the whistleblower and his sources. The extended video clip published by Bloomberg showed Trump referring to Biden as “dumb as a rock” getting more laughter from the diplomats. He also calls journalists “animals,” “scum” and “crooked.”
WH ATTORNEYS ASKED FOR CALL FILE SEALING
The White House on Friday confirmed a key detail in the whistleblower’s complaint alleging that Trump abused the power of his office. A senior administration official acknowledged that the rough transcript of Trump’s July 25 phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was moved to a highly classified system maintained by the National Security Council at the direction of attorneys. The motivation and timing remained unclear.