President Donald Trump didn’t tweet during former FBI Director James Comey’s more than two hours of testimony before Congress on Thursday—much to the chagrin of patrons of Union Pub in Washington, DC, who were betting on a free round with each presidential tweet.
However, the Republican National Committee did take to Twitter to defend the president and push its own series of talking points, aided by White House social media director Dan Scavino and Trump son Donald Trump Jr. The organization reportedly set up a rapid-response team of about 60 staffers for the meeting, in lieu of a White House crisis-response "war room" that never materialized, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Below are the three talking points distributed most often throughout Comey’s testimony.
Clearing Trump’s name
Looking to minimize the impact of Comey’s testimony, the official GOP Twitter account emphasized several times that the former FBI director said under oath that Trump himself was not under investigation.
Sorry Dems- nothing here. No votes were altered by Russians in the 2016 election. POTUS or team NEVER asked to stop election investigation. pic.twitter.com/uOYQ41mckS
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) June 8, 2017
So according to Comey, @POTUS never asked to stop the investigation and Russia didn’t change a single vote. Good to know. #BigLeagueTruth
— GOP (@GOP) June 8, 2017
Both parties lost faith in Comey
Many Republican leaders and Trump himself had noted that Democrats were also highly critical of Comey before he was suddenly fired in May. The GOP pulled quotes from prominent Democrats dating back to the presidential election after Comey dealt a blow to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
FYI here’s what Democrats said about Comey just a few months ago. #BigLeagueTruth pic.twitter.com/nrUxyD6Umt
— GOP (@GOP) June 8, 2017
Comey isn’t a trustworthy source
The GOP account and Trump Jr. both pulled a comment from Comey in which he said, "I could be wrong." The party’s talking points also described several instances in which Comey had been proven incorrect, adding, "Comey has a long history of blatant contradictions and misstatements."
James "I could be wrong" Comey. #ComeyHearing #BigLeagueTruth
— GOP (@GOP) June 8, 2017
Comey "I could be wrong"
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 8, 2017
RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel hammered this point home by tweeting that Comey leaked information about Trump to the media.
Can we go back to the fact that Comey leaked memos and shared them with the media before Congress for political impact? #ComeyHearing https://t.co/mRCPcLEgJH
— Ronna RomneyMcDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) June 8, 2017
