President Donald Trump, desperate to defuse the impeachment inquiry that is quickly gathering steam, resorted to a familiar self-preservation tactic Tuesday: He cast himself as a victim.

Yet the attempt backfired into another self-ignited firestorm Tuesday as he claimed on Twitter that he's the target of a Democratic Party "lynching." It's part of Trump's campaign to discredit the probe, first by calling it a "witch hunt,'' then a "coup'' and now this.

"All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!,'' he tweeted.

Some Republicans rebuked him rather than responding to his rallying cry. And for New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, the Trump remark offered a brief moment both to condemn Trump and to remind voters of his pledge to take the country to a higher moral plane.

But even though Booker took an early lead in the Senate on the very issue of lynching, he was just one voice in a chorus of outrage on Tuesday. If anything, that served as reminder of the struggle Booker has had in breaking through the crowded field for the Democratic nomination in 2020.

Booker and other Democrats argued that Trump had no business comparing his fate to the lives of thousands of African-American men terrorized for decades by the barbaric hangings.

The nation's history of lynching has been a priority topic for Booker, who co-sponsored legislation that makes lynching a federal crime. The measure passed the Senate last December after nearly 200 attempts failed in the past. It has been introduced in the House but has yet to be voted on.

"This has been a long arc, a painful history and a shameful history in this body," Booker said on the Senate floor. "At the height of lynchings across this country affecting thousands of people, this body did not act to make that a federal crime."

Seven presidents petitioned Congress to end lynching between 1890 and 1952 amid repeated requests by civil rights groups, including the NAACP, according to the legislation.

But for the current president, lynching is a rhetorical device used in the act of self-preservation.

Other than with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Trump's most vocal lackey in the Senate, and few other Republicans congressmen, Trump's bid for sympathy failed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Trump's language was "unfortunate," and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who is also loath to criticize the president, also said it was a poor choice of words.

"‘Lynching’ brings back images of a terrible time in our nation’s history, and the president never should have made that comparison,'' said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

The "lynching" comment also conjures up Trump's troubled history of race relations. He was the brazen real estate mogul who lashed out at the Central Park Five, New York City teenagers of color who were accused of raping a female jogger in 1989. Trump took out a full-page ad calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty. The five were later exonerated.

In 2017, Trump said the white nationalist counterprotesters who flocked to Charllottesville, Virginia, included some "very fine people," a remark that was cheered by the white supremacist groups. His vows to curb Muslim, Central American and Mexican immigration have also alienated minorities.

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Trump is hardly the only major political figure to improperly use "lynching'' in a political attack. Former Vice President Joe Biden, a top contender for the 2020 Democratic nomination, joined the Democratic Party onslaught of criticism Tuesday, tweeting, "Impeachment is not 'lynching,' it is part of our Constitution."

But later in the day, it was disclosed that Biden used the same term in 1998, describing President Clinton's impeachment as a "partisan lynching." Biden later apologized on Twitter.

Booker, meanwhile, has cast himself as a conciliatory "lead with love" candidate while promising to institute criminal justice and tougher gun restrictions. It's not the first time that a racially charged Trump incident has given him a chance to stand out in contrast — and on a higher moral plane.

In August, Booker delivered an impassioned, better-angels-of-our-nature appeal for a nation still raw and bewildered by the slaughters in El Paso and Dayton.

It was inside the sanctuary at the Charleston, South Carolina, church where nine African-Americans were gunned down in 2015 by Dylann Roof, a white supremacist. Booker's speech was made while Trump was engulfed in a Twitter attack between trips to the sites of the two mass shootings.

"We must change our laws, but we must also confront our past," Booker told the audience. "The truth is: There is another story we can tell about our country. A better story. Not one that ignores our mistakes or accommodates our failures.''

Booker's approach has not boosted his candidacy. He remains in the second tier of candidates, with about 3 percent support from Democratic voters.

He had to send out a fundraising alert last month, warning that he would have to abandon his bid if he didn't raise $1.7 million in the final 10 days of September. The appeal worked, but he remains a candidate in search of a spark.

On Tuesday, Trump helped elevate Booker's profile, at least on Twitter. But other Democrats pounced, including Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., another 2020 hopeful and a co-sponsor of the anti-lynching bill.

Booker, like everybody else, is struggling to be heard with Trump on stage — and even when Trump blunders.

Charles Stile is New Jersey’s preeminent political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey’s political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: stile@northjersey.com Twitter: @politicalstile