President Trump on Tuesday slammed Democrats’ ongoing impeachment inquiry as “unpatriotic” and “a bad thing for our country” during a trip to London for a meeting with NATO leaders.
“I think it’s very unpatriotic of the Democrats to put on a performance,” Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the sidelines of the summit, The Associated Press reports.
“I think it’s a bad thing for our country,” he added.
Trump insisted he is centered on improving domestic and foreign policy and not impeachment, despite his frequent tweets bashing Democrats over their probe, the AP noted.
Trump’s comments come ahead of the House Judiciary Committee’s first public hearing in the impeachment probe into the president’s dealings with Ukraine.
The panel on Wednesday will hear from constitutional lawyers to ”explore the framework put in place to respond to serious allegations of impeachable misconduct like those against President Trump,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House counsel Pat Cipollone and adviser Kellyanne Conway have complained about the timing of the hearing while Trump is overseas.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump tore into French President Emmanuel Macron over his comments about NATO experiencing “brain death,” saying they were “very insulting” and “nasty,” despite being openly critical of the alliance himself.