Trump and Republican lawmakers have compared his impeachment to Jesus' crucifixion, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the Salem witch trials
- President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have compared the president's expected impeachment and the impeachment inquiry to a host of dramatic historical events.
- In a Tuesday letter to Nancy Pelosi, Trump wrote that the people executed during the Salem witch trials in the late 1600s were granted more due process than he was.
- On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of North Carolina said Jesus was treated more fairly than Trump before he was crucified.
- Republican Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania later compared Trump's impeachment to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, during which more than 2,400 people died and 1,000 were injured.
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President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have compared the president's expected impeachment and the impeachment inquiry to a host of dramatic historical events, including Pearl Harbor, the Salem witch trials, and Jesus' crucifixion.
On Wednesday, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Georgia Republican, claimed that Jesus was "afforded more rights" during the trial that led to his crucifixion than President Donald Trump has had during the House impeachment process.
"Before you take this historic vote today, one week before Christmas, I want you to keep this in mind," Loudermilk said during his floor speech on Wednesday. "When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president and this process."
Later on Wednesday, Rep. Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican compared Trump's impeachment to the Japanese attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base that provoked the US's entrance into the second world war.
"On December 7, 1941, a horrific act happened in the United States and it's one that President Roosevelt said, 'This is a date that will live in infamy,'" Kelly said.
"Today, December the 18, 2019 is another date that will live in infamy," he added. "When just because you hate the president of the United States, and you can find no reason other than the fact that you're so blinded by your hate that you can't see straight, that you've decided the only way we can make sure that this president doesn't get elected again is to impeach him."
And in a Tuesday letter to Nancy Pelosi, Trump wrote that the women executed during the Salem witch trials in the late 1600s were granted more due process than he was. Twenty people were executed as a result of those notorious trials.
Even some of the president's staunchest supporters were critical of the ahistorical comparisons.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters on Wednesday that while she hadn't seen Loudermilk's comments, she doesn't approve of "Jesus comparisons."