‘I can do whatever I want’: Trump invokes impeachment after naming Obama, Biden, Hillary

President Trump discussed his two impeachments while speaking about his presidency and political rivals in the Oval Office
President Donald Trump during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on October 07, 2026 (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on October 07, 2026 (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said he can now “do whatever I want,” tying that claim to his two impeachments and saying he once restrained himself from targeting political rivals.

Trump said he avoided “very bad” action against Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Barack Obama because he viewed the presidency as “sacred.”

He made the remarks from the White House Oval Office on Wednesday, October 7, while announcing the automatic enrollment of millions of American children in his “Trump Accounts” and answering questions from reporters.



Trump ties impeachment to claims of restraint

Trump said his previous restraint came despite what he described as actions against him, including two impeachments. 

“Then I found out that they impeached me twice, and I certainly, even to this moment, I can do whatever I want if I want,” he said.

He then listed Clinton, Biden and Obama, saying he could have acted against them but chose not to. 

“I thought it was inappropriate to do so because you have to treat the office of the presidency with respect,” Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly portrayed the impeachments as part of a broader campaign by political opponents and government institutions to undermine him. 

The first, in 2019, involved allegations that he abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden.

The second followed the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and accused him of inciting an insurrection. The Senate acquitted Trump in both cases. 

President Donald Trump, Susan Dell and Brad Gerstner listen as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump, Susan Dell and Brad Gerstner listen as Sen Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Oct 7, 2026 (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Trump allies seek symbolic reversal of impeachments

The current effort would ask Congress to pass a resolution that would symbolically nullify the two impeachments. 

The Wall Street Journal first reported the proposal on June 11, and a White House official confirmed it.

The measure would not have legal force because the Constitution provides no procedure for undoing an impeachment. It would instead amount largely to a political statement, as per the Guardian.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson defended the proposal and accused Democrats of partisan attacks against Trump.

“Trump-deranged Democrats have spent years launching phoney attacks against the president and weaponising the government against him,” she said, the outlet cited.

However, Trump said Wednesday that he "could have done very, very bad things to Joe Biden. I could have done very bad things to Barack Hussein Obama. I thought it was inappropriate to do so because you have to treat the office of the presidency with respect."

Iris Weinshall, Senator Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama attend the 9/11 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony at the National 911 Memorial and Museum in New York on Friday, September 11, 2026.

(POOL PHOTO By Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times)
Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama attend the 9/11 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony at the National 911 Memorial and Museum in New York on Friday, September 11, 2026 (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times/Getty Images)

Presidency must be treated with respect, Trump says

Trump said he had “plenty of people” urging him to take action against Biden, Clinton and Obama but rejected the idea because he viewed the presidency as a “sacred position.”

“I thought it was inappropriate to do so because you have to treat the office of the presidency with respect,” he said.

President Barack Obama, his wife Michele and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill wave to supporters in Chicago at an election day watch party in the McCormick Place convention center. (Photo by Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images)
Barack Obama, his wife Michele and Joe Biden and his wife Jill wave to supporters in Chicago at an election day watch party in the McCormick Place convention center (Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images)

Trump also defended himself against his two impeachments, saying, “They went after me twice. I won overwhelmingly. It was thrown out. Both of them were thrown out overwhelmingly.”

He then criticized Rep Al Green, who he said was among those calling for his impeachment, before reiterating that the presidency should not be treated with disrespect.

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