USA TODAY International Edition
Trump downplays Iraq friction, slams impeachment
Washington news on his mind at economic forum
Wrapping up his trip to a global economic conference in Switzerland on Wednesday, President Donald Trump played up the economy, downplayed friction with Iraq and condemned some of Democrats over his impeachment trial in the Senate.
“These two guys .. are major sleazebags, they’re very dishonest people,” Trump said. He accused Democratic House impeachment managers Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler of distorting his actions with Ukraine.
At the end of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump suggested he does not foresee top aides testifying at the trial, though he claimed he would “love” to see that happen.
The problem, Trump said, is that testimony by acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton would reveal “national security” secrets. Trump’s lawyers said they would probably invoke executive privilege to block testimony from aides and exaides about internal deliberations at the White House.
At the conference, Trump sought to emphasize the strength of the American economy. He met with the president of Iraq but said little about problems between their two countries.
Trump again attacked impeachment as “a total hoax” and “a disgrace” but said it’s up to lawmakers to decide the case.
“I’ll leave that to the Senate,” Trump said before his trip back to Washington, where the impeachment trial is taking place in the U. S. Capitol.
Schiff, Nadler, and other House impeachment managers accused Trump of abuse of power by trying to get Ukraine to investigate a U. S. political rival, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. They said he delayed aide to Ukraine until an announcement about investigations was made.
Trump claimed he would “love” to testify at the Senate trial – “I’d sit right in the front row and stare in their corrupt faces” – but said his lawyers probably would not allow that.
In Davos, Trump said he saw “glimpses” of the impeachment trial on television and believes lawmakers are “wasting time in Washington.”
Trump said he used his visit to the annual World Economic Forum to solicit investments in the United States from foreign nations and businesspeople. He recited a litany of positive economic statistics in the USA: “These are incredible numbers.”
Trump said he invited officials with the World Trade Organization to Washington to discuss possible changes to global trade rules.
In his final hours at Davos, Trump held a series of morning meetings, including one with Iraqi President Barham Salih about the fallout from a drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani.
After that strike, the Iraqi parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling on the Trump administration to withdraw troops from the country, which Iraqis fear is in the cross hairs in the standoff between the United States and Iran.
Trump, who said he authorized the strike on Soleimani because he was a threat to U. S. interests in the region, has threatened to sanction Iraq over its opposition to American troops.
“We’re working on a lot of things together,” Trump said before the meeting with Salih. “We have a whole host of difficult things to discuss, and some very positive things also.”
Trump said he did not see a speech in Davos by environmental activist Greta Thunberg, 17, who has said Trump is not doing enough to combat climate change. The president said the United States is improving the environment – and noted that Thunberg was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2019. “She beat me out on Time magazine,” Trump said.