'Trump not only buttressed her credibility, but turned her into a sort of martyr'
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is sworn in prior to providing testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill November 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images In 280 characters, Donald Trump made Marie Yovanovitch a victim.
The California Democrat read, “Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go?” She responded, “I don’t think I have such powers. Not in Mogadishu, Somalia and not in other places. I actually think where I served over the years, I and others have demonstrably made things better.”
But with his tweet, Trump not only buttressed her credibility, but turned her into a sort of martyr. Sources on both sides of the aisle told Intelligencer that it changed the momentum of hearing. She could no longer be painted as a deep-state Never Trumper. Instead, she became a figure almost too sympathetic to be directly criticized.
In contrast, Republicans shrugged her off. Trump ally Rep. Mark Meadows told reporters, “I don’t know if [the tweet] was an attack on the witness. It was a characterization of her resume.” The result prompted expressions of outrage from Stefanik and accusation from Nunes that Schiff was “gagging a member of Congress” as she kept on trying to ask a question and Schiff kept on banging his gavel. Eventually, Castor took over the questioning.
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