Unimpressed With the Debate, Trump Offers a New Conspiracy for Impeachment

Dire predictions if “any of these clowns became President!”

Brian Cahn/ZUMA

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President Donald Trump is claiming to be unimpressed with his Democratic challengers after Tuesday’s presidential debate in Ohio. But never one to decline an opportunity to bash his rivals or push a wild conspiracy theory, the president took to Twitter Wednesday morning and linked what he considered lackluster performances to the rationale for Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

The current impeachment investigation has a very clear, if not overly narrow rationale: It is centered on his efforts to coerce a foreign power into digging political dirt into Democrats. Nevertheless, the president continued to rail against the inquiry Wednesday morning and claim that the economy would tank if any of his Democratic opponents defeated him.

But perhaps what’s most noteworthy about Trump’s post-debate ramblings is what he didn’t say. Tuesday’s debate was the first since the impeachment probe was launched, and therefore the first debate appearance by Joe Biden since becoming one of the central figures in that very investigation. So why isn’t Trump tearing into Biden? Maybe like the rest of the Democratic primary, Trump’s calculus has moved on.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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