At least 1 GOP congressman thinks Trump's impeachment 'Civil War' tweet is 'beyond repugnant'

President Trump and pastor Robert Jeffress

(Image credit: Olivier Douliery-Pool via Getty Images)

published 30 September 2019

President Trump had a busy Sunday on Twitter, beginning with a volley of retweets attacking Fox & Friends host Ed Henry after an exchange with conservative backer Mark Levin — and one of the retweets was of shark-themed Trump parody account.

Not all of Trump's tweets were so amusing. The president accused House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) of "treason" for unclear reasons; appeared to threaten the whistleblower who filed a complaint about concerns over Trump's Ukraine call — in doing so, Trump misrepresented and arguably broke the law — and he quoted one of his most fervent and controversial Evangelical Christian supporters, Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress, saying on Fox & Friends that, according to Trump's transcription, removing Trump through impeachment "will cause a Civil War–like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal."

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) called Trump's tweet "beyond repugnant."

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Historian Kevin Kruse explained why it makes no sense.

No president has ever been removed from office via impeachment, though Richard Nixon resigned when it appeared such removal was imminent.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.