White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley Tuesday defended President Donald Trump's use of the word "lynching" in a tweet to describe the impeachment inquiry against him, noting that he's used all kinds of language to talk about how the media and Democrats have been treating him since the day he announced his candidacy.
"The day he was elected, before being sworn into office they were already telegraphing what they wanted to do," Gidley told Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "The president wasn't trying to compare himself to the horrific history in this country at all. What he was trying to point out clearly was that he has been attacked relentlessly by the mainstream media without cause, without evidence since the day he took over in this office."
But Trump's opponents have "started this from day one," but the president is "working for the American people and that's what this is about, an unfair secretive process for the Democrats. If you are pulled over for a traffic ticket you get more due process."
There have been several people speaking out against Trump's use of the racially charged word, but Gidley, while admitting he hasn't spoken to the president about the tweet, called on his critics to talk about what Trump has done for the African-American community.
Also on Tuesday, Gidley said there is a "real risk" for Americans as the impeachment inquiry continues.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "won't touch" the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, he said, and Democrats aren't talking about legislation for infrastructure or securing the southern border.
"They continue to go down into this witch hunt," he said. "They continue to do this time and time again. It is the American people that suffer. They're the ones who will have to answer for this."
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