'When you strike at the King, you must kill him': Donald Trump quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson in tweet about failed impeachment trial
- Trump quoted a New York Times analysis of Democrats' failed impeachment
- The article contained famous quote 'When you strike at a king, you must kill him'
- However, Trump changed 'strike at a king' to 'strike at the King'
- Tweet spurred liberal outrage and many replies of 'you are not a king'
President Donald Trump has quoted the famous Ralph Waldo Emerson line about striking at a king, provoking liberal outrage.
Trump was quoting a February 1 news analysis piece by Peter Baker for the New York Times, which cited the Emerson line in speculating that the president would emerge stronger than ever from impeachment acquittal.
''Ralph Waldo Emerson seemed to foresee the lesson of the Senate Impeachment Trial of President Trump. 'When you strike at the King, Emerson famously said, 'you must kill him.'' Trump's tweet read.
'Mr. Trump's foes struck at him but did not take him down. A triumphant Mr. Trump emerges from the biggest test of his presidency emboldened, ready to claim exoneration, and take his case of grievance, persecution and resentment to the campaign trail,' the tweet quoting Baker continued.
President Donald Trump has quoted the famous Ralph Waldo Emerson line about striking at a king, provoking liberal outrage
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Trump did change one detail in quoting the article. Where Baker correctly citing Emerson as saying 'strike at a king,' Trump amended the line to 'strike at the King.'
The origin of the quote is a letter that Emerson penned to Oliver Wendell Holmes, a future Supreme Court Justice who was then a Harvard undergraduate, in response to Holmes' essay criticizing Plato.
Trump's tweet immediately sparked an outpouring of fury from his critics, with many people responding 'you are not a king.'
The origin of the quote is a letter that Emerson penned to Oliver Wendell Holmes
'Too many Americans laid down their lives to preserve a government of, by, and for the people. Mr. Trump, you are not a king,' tweeted Tom Steyer, the billionaire who recently withdrew from the Democratic presidential primary.
Trump is the third president in U.S. history to be impeached, but will be the first to seek re-election following acquittal in the Senate.
Trump is spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
On Saturday night he is scheduled to attend a private fundraiser, and on Sunday he will grand marshal the Daytona 500 NASCAR race at Daytona Beach.
