Former President Donald Trump accused Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., of not being grateful to him for the arrangements for her late husband's funeral after she criticized his dark Christmas message.
The ex-president unleashed a torrent of negative comments against Dingell after she publicly criticized Trump’s holiday weekend tirade, in which he told President Joe Biden, special counsel Jack Smith, and others to “ROT IN HELL.”
“Merry Christmas to all, including Crooked Joe Biden’s ONLY HOPE, Deranged Jack Smith, the out of control Lunatic who just hired outside attorneys, fresh from the SWAMP (unprecedented!), to help him with his poorly executed WITCH HUNT against ‘TRUMP’ and ‘MAGA,’” he wrote on Truth Social on Christmas.
“Included also are World Leaders,” Trump added, “both good and bad, but none of which are as evil and ‘sick’ as the THUGS we have inside our Country who, with their Open Borders, INFLATION, Afghanistan Surrender, Green New Scam, High Taxes, No Energy Independence, Woke Military, Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Iran, All Electric Car Lunacy, and so much more, are looking to destroy our once great USA. MAY THEY ROT IN HELL. AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
Merry Christmas to all, including Crooked Joe Biden’s ONLY HOPE, Deranged Jack Smith, the out of control Lunatic who just hired outside attorneys, fresh from the SWAMP (unprecedented!), to help him with his poorly executed WITCH HUNT against “TRUMP” and “MAGA.” Included also are…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) December 25, 2023
Dingell in a Tuesday interview on CNN described Trump’s Christmas invective as “one of the most pathetic Christmas greetings I’ve heard, when a former President of the United States who wants to return [to office] tells people on Christmas Day that they can ‘rot in hell.’”
The congresswoman added that “there were men outside of my house with assault weapons” following instances in which the former president previously “went after” her.
Following Dingell’s Tuesday remarks, Trump took to Truth Social, writing, “Debbie Dingell of Michigan is a LOSER,” also accusing her of helping President Joe Biden to “DESTROY our Country.” Trump also took the opportunity to call out Dingell in relation to the death of her husband, former Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich, in February 2019.
“When I gave, as President, her long serving husband, the absolute highest U.S. honors for his funeral, a really big deal, she called me, crying almost uncontrollably, to say that she couldn’t believe I was willing to do that for a Democrat,” Trump wrote. “She thanked me profusely. Two months later, she was back on the trail ranting and raving about ‘TRUMP.’”
The Daily Beast noted that Trump’s Tuesday missive was not the first time he has used Rep. Dingell’s husband’s passing against her. After she voted in favor of impeaching him in December of 2019, Trump at a campaign rally implied that Rep. John Dingell could be in hell.
“It just sort of kicked me in the stomach," Dingell told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” following Trump’s comment. "It was the politicization of something that didn't need to be so. He [Rep. John Dingell] was buried in Arlington Cemetery because he was a World War Two veteran."
Dingell at the time did concede she appreciated some of Trump’s efforts.
“[Trump] called me to tell me he was lowering the flags," Dingell said, recalling the ex-president's response after her husband passed. "And to this day and this minute, I am grateful that he did it. I was grateful for the call. He was kind and empathetic. It meant a lot to somebody who was hurting and loved her husband."
She also explained that, though she was grateful for the measures Trump took in the wake of her husband’s death, she did not believe that that meant she needed to vote against his impeachment.
"Those are two different issues for me … we have to learn in our country that you can agree to disagree agreeably," Dingell explained.
She added, "I think there are lines you don’t cross. I don’t want an apology, I don’t want a campaign to begin around that. What I do want is people to take a deep breath and think going forward that their words have consequences, that they can hurt, and how do we bring more civility back to our political environment?"
