Trump Criticized For Calling House Impeachment Inquiry A ‘Coup’

President Donald Trump called Democrats’ impeachment inquiry a “coup” on Tuesday.

“As I learn more and more each day, I am coming to the conclusion that what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP…” Trump tweeted.

As I learn more and more each day, I am coming to the conclusion that what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP, intended to take away the Power of the….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2019

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) announced a formal impeachment inquiry on Sept. 24 after reports surfaced alleging that Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate political rival, Joe Biden.

A coup is defined as “the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group,” so critics were quick to denounce his choice of words.

“It’s not a coup to hold the President of the United States accountable to the rule of law and the Constitution,” tweeted one user.

It’s not a coup to hold the President of the United States accountable to the rule of law and the Constitution.

— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) October 2, 2019

In a thread of tweets, technologist Tom Coates tweeted that “this is not an attack on democracy, it is explicitly in defense of it.”

When people challenge you because you appear to be leveraging the power of the US to further your own political career and investigate your opponents, rather than to work in the interests of American citizens, this is not an attack on democracy, it is explicitly in defense of it.

— Tom Coates (@tomcoates) October 2, 2019

“No. You’re panicking to the point where you’re prepared to throw out any words you can, in the hope of riling up your excitable base,” tweeted author Michael Marshall Smith. “It’s not a ‘coup’. It’s a long-overdue reckoning.”

No. You’re panicking to the point where you’re prepared to throw out any words you can, in the hope of riling up your excitable base. It’s not a “coup”. It’s a long-overdue reckoning.

— Michael Marshall Smith (@ememess) October 1, 2019

Trump had previously referred to the Mueller probe as a coup as well.

“They tried for a coup, it didn’t work out so well. And I didn’t need a gun for that one, did I?” Trump said in April at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting.