Says Mueller ‘did a horrible job’ and GOP ‘had a good day’
WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump declared himself vindicated by Wednesday’s congressional appearance of Robert Mueller, the special counsel, calling it a “devastating” day for Democrats that exposed the Russia investigation as a “hoax” and a yearslong “phony cloud” over his head.
Speaking to reporters as he boarded Marine One for a brief trip to West Virginia to host a fundraiser, the president said that Mueller was “horrible” during his testimony before two House committees and in his handling of the investigation.
“We had a good day today,” Trump said, echoing a sense of jubilation inside the White House that Democrats had failed in their bid to use Mueller to build a case for impeachment against the president.
“This was a devastating day
for the Democrats,” Trump said, adding: “The Democrats had nothing. And now they have less than nothing. And I think they are going to lose the 2020 election very big, including congressional elections.”
“Today proved a lot to everybody,” he said.
Trump spent the morning in the White House residence, where he watched portions of the first hearing, according to people familiar with his activities. He went down to the Oval Office by the time the second hearing had begun, but he was not in front of a television for longer than 15 minutes at a time, according to one adviser.
He moved back and forth from the small dining room adjacent to the Oval Office to the Resolute Desk for a number of meetings, including one about prescription drug prices with two Republican representatives, Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader, and Mark Meadows of North Carolina.
Trump’s comments in the afternoon reflected the growing excitement inside the West Wing that Mueller had fallen flat in his performance.
One person who spoke with Trump said he took note of Mueller’s physical appearance and halting response to some questions.
“I think Robert Mueller did a horrible job, both today and with respect to the investigation,” Trump said, adding: “Obviously he did very poorly today. I don’t think there’s anybody — even among the fakers — I don’t think there’s anybody that would say he did well.”
Trump also panned Mueller’s performance during the seven hours of testimony, including retweeting critics of the former special counsel’s appearance to 62 million followers throughout the morning hearing of the House Judiciary Committee.
“I would like to thank the Democrats for holding this morning’s hearing,” Trump wrote after Mueller testified in front of the Judiciary Committee and as the former special counsel prepared to testify in front of the House Intelligence Committee, led by Rep. Adam B. Schiff of California.
“Now, after 3 hours, Robert Mueller has to subject himself to #ShiftySchiff — an Embarrassment to our Country!” Trump tweeted.
Trump started shouting on Twitter before 7 a.m., venting about what he called the “Greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history” even as Mueller was headed to Capitol Hill.
By 8:10, the president had posted seven more times, delivering a kind of Twitter greatest hits — punctuated by capital letters and exclamation points — in which he portrayed himself as the innocent victim of an illegal crusade by Mueller, Democrats and the country’s intelligence community.
He said that his accusers were part of an “illegal and treasonous attack on our Country.”
He complained again about the “18 angry Democrats” he asserted were on the Mueller team and asked why the special counsel did not investigate “Lyin’ & Leakin’ James Comey,” the former FBI director whom Trump fired, and others.
The president attacked Mueller’s credibility, repeating his unsubstantiated claim that the former special counsel was “highly conflicted.”
He then said: “NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION!” and “KEEP AMERICA GREAT!”
On Tuesday, Trump had shrugged off the impending testimony, telling reporters that he would not watch the hearings on Wednesday, then admitting that “maybe I’ll see a little bit of it.”
But the president’s early morning online activities betrayed his real intentions, indicating once again that Trump appeared consumed by the investigation that had dominated much of his presidency.