The latest on the Trump impeachment inquiry: Live updates - CNN International

President Trump used a racially-charged term to describe the House of Representative's impeachment inquiry, calling the process a "lynching" today.

Some context: Trump has repeatedly railed against the probe, calling it a "witch hunt" and a "fraud" — but this marks his first use of the term "lynching," a term deeply intertwined with horrific racial violence and a dark era the United States.

Trump previously retweeted a statement during the 2016 election referring to his media treatment as a "disgusting lynching" in September 2015.

Trump has long been a racial lightning rod, from his tepid response to the violence of white nationalists to his stark anti-immigrant rhetoric throughout his time in office and campaigning.

The statement drew a swift rebuke from Democratic Rep. James Clyburn.

"I really believe this man is prone to inflammatory statements and that is one word no president ought to apply to himself. I've studied presidential history quite a bit and I don't know if we've ever seen anything quite like this," the South Carolina congressman said on CNN's "New Day.

"I am not just a politician up here. I'm a Southern politician, I'm a product of the South. I know the history of that word, that is a word that we ought to be very, very careful about using," he said.

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