- After he was impeached on Wednesday, President Donald Trump implied the late Rep. John Dingell was in hell as he attacked the beloved lawmaker's wife, Rep. Debbie Dingell, for voting in favor of impeachment.
- White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham defended Trump on Thursday, calling him a "counter-puncher" who was "under attack."
- "It was a very, very supportive and wild crowd, and he was just riffing on some of the things that had been happening t6he past few days," Grisham added.
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White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham on Thursday defended newly-impeached President Donald Trump as a "counter-puncher" who was "under attack" as he faced backlash for implying that a recently deceased Democratic lawmaker was now in hell during a campaign rally in Michigan the night before.
Grisham said Trump was "riffing" off of the crowd.
Trump made the remarks on the late Rep. John Dingell - the longest-serving member of Congress in history, who died in February - as he attacked the beloved Michigan lawmaker's wife, Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell, for voting in favor of impeachment on Wednesday.
"Debbie Dingell, that's a real beauty," he said to the crowd.
"I didn't give [John] the B treatment, I didn't give him the C or the D - I could've - I gave him the A+ treatment," added Trump, as he recounted ordering the US flag to be flown at half-staff following Dingell's death.
Trump then went on to mock Debbie Dingell's voice as he described when she called to thank him for the order in February.
"She calls me up: 'It's the nicest thing that's ever happened, thank you so much,'" he said. "John would be so thrilled. He's looking down, he'd be so thrilled. Thank you so much sir."
"I said: 'That's okay, don't worry about it.' Maybe he's looking up, I don't know," Trump added. "But let's assume he's looking down."
Responding to Trump's remarks in a tweet later on, Debbie Dingell said: "Mr. President, let's set politics aside. My husband earned all his accolades after a lifetime of service. I'm preparing for the first holiday season without the man I love. You brought me down in a way you can never imagine and your hurtful words just made my healing much harder."
A number of Democratic lawmakers ripped into Trump for his comments on the Dingeels, and at least one Republican lawmaker, Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan, called on the president to apologize.
When asked about Trump's comments in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday, less than a day after the president's impeachment, Grisham said: "You'd have to talk to the president about that. He was at a political rally. He has been under attack, and under impeachment attack, for the last few months, and then just under attack politically for the last two-and-a-half years. I think that as we all know, the president is a counter-puncher."
"It was a very, very supportive and wild crowd, and he was just riffing on some of the things that had been happening the past few days," Grisham added.
The White House press secretary went on to say she's "very, very sorry" for Debbie Dingell's loss, adding: "And I would thank her and I would thank her late husband for all of the service to our country."
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