President Donald Trump believed he had mounted a notable comeback when a reporter asked whether he feared impeachment if Democrats regain control of Congress in the upcoming November midterms.
What he hadn’t anticipated was that Punch Bowl News’ Jake Sherman would stay laser-focused and respond to Trump’s audacious boast with a concise, four-word reality check that froze the moment.
“If Democrats do take over the House, it’s just going to be investigation mania,” Sherman said during a sit-down interview with Trump. “They’re going to conduct oversight. They could impeach you again. Do you think they will?”
Trump answered with something he has said before, yet this time he seemed stunned by Sherman’s pushback.
“Well, a lot of people are saying I’m one of the greatest presidents ever,” Trump replied.
But Sherman was ready, firing back, “They’re not saying that, though.”
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At this stage in the interview, Trump’s reaction to the contradiction could have swung either way, given how volatile he can appear in front of reporters.
Trump opted for a tense laugh rather than a full-blown temper, and he attempted to steer Sherman away from the line of questioning.
“Yeah, but they know. They see the results,” Trump insisted.
He then boasted about the investments he claims to have ushered into the United States during the first 16 months of his second term.
“Look, we have right now more money being invested in the United States than at any time in history,” Trump bragged.
He claimed the investment totals surpassed anything any country had ever seen.
“We’re building more factories, plants,” Trump said, before turning to artificial intelligence and automotive facilities. “Factories of all kinds.”
Then he asserted that every major auto manufacturer was leaving Mexico, Canada, and Germany to relocate to the United States.
“They’re coming here because of tariffs. Because of my very smart use of tariffs,” the president crowed.
Critics accused Trump of exaggerating. The Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Senate released a February report showing between 68,000 and 108,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during his first year back in office. And the Supreme Court later ruled that a large portion of Trump’s tariffs, effectively a tax on Americans, were illegal.
But Sherman appeared unconvinced by Trump’s rosy economic forecasts.
“But do you think they’ll impeach you?” he pressed.
“Ah, it’s hard to believe they could,” Trump muttered.
“They’ll be all over you,” Sherman stated. “There’ll be subpoenas,” he tried to continue, but Trump cut him off.
Then he groused, “It’s a very unfair thing.”
“It’s a very unfair thing,” he repeated. “You know, when I was president and spoke a lot about Hillary Clinton, they wanted to impeach her.”
Clinton served as secretary of state under former President Barack Obama.
The former first lady received glowing reviews in that role and dedicated herself during her four years in office, traveling to as many as 116 countries representing the United States from January 2009 to February 2013.
Yet hardline Republicans in Congress pursued her for years over Libyan militants’ 2012 attack on an American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, which killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
Social media exploded, calling out Trump for his gaslighting and evasive answer.
“Who is this ‘a lot of people’ he’s referring to because they’re not real.”
“He is most certainly not one of the greatest presidents ever. More like one of the worst. Probably the worst,” one X user proclaimed.
This user added, “You know, Trump may actually believe that. Because in his bubble he only surrounds himself with sycophants and yes-men.”
“Trump has lost his mind. It’s obvious to EVERYONE but the Republicans in Congress,” another commenter noted.
Others agreed, “His inflated sense of grandeur is exhausting.”
