President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE railed against House Democrats on Tuesday evening for trying to “ruin and demean” his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly by announcing a formal impeachment inquiry.

Trump’s criticism came in the form of a series of tweets just minutes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiDemocratic senator to party: 'A little message discipline wouldn't kill us' Overnight Health Care: New wave of COVID-19 cases builds in US | Florida to lift all coronavirus restrictions on restaurants, bars | Trump stirs questions with 0 drug coupon plan Overnight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds MORE (D-Calif.) announced the lower chamber would move forward with formal impeachment proceedings, accusing Trump of betraying his oath of office.

“Such an important day at the United Nations, so much work and so much success, and the Democrats purposely had to ruin and demean it with more breaking news Witch Hunt garbage. So bad for our Country,” Trump tweeted Tuesday shortly after returning to Trump Tower in New York following a day of meetings at the U.N. General Assembly.

Such an important day at the United Nations, so much work and so much success, and the Democrats purposely had to ruin and demean it with more breaking news Witch Hunt garbage. So bad for our Country! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

The decision by Democrats followed revelations about a July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during which Trump reportedly pressured Zelensky to investigate unsubstantiated allegations against the family of Democratic front-runner Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE.

ADVERTISEMENT

Trump has acknowledged mentioning Biden on the call but has denied he said anything improper or that he applied pressure to Zelensky. On Tuesday, Trump said he had authorized the Wednesday release of a transcript of the call with Zelensky, but that did little to appease Democrats who hours later announced they would move forward with a formal impeachment inquiry.

“They never even saw the transcript of the call. A total Witch Hunt!” Trump tweeted, calling out several Democratic chairs by name and accusing them of “presidential harassment.”

They never even saw the transcript of the call. A total Witch Hunt! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

"Secretary of State Pompeo recieved permission from Ukraine Government to release the transcript of the telephone call I had with their President," Trump added later. "They don’t know either what the big deal is. A total Witch Hunt Scam by the Democrats!"

Secretary of State Pompeo recieved permission from Ukraine Government to release the transcript of the telephone call I had with their President. They don’t know either what the big deal is. A total Witch Hunt Scam by the Democrats! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

In remarks on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Pelosi, who has long resisted calls for formal impeachment proceedings, said she had directed the six House committees to move forward with their investigations into Trump under the umbrella of an “official impeachment inquiry.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“The actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” Pelosi said.

The drama has eclipsed Trump’s multiday appearance at the U.N. The president delivered remarks Tuesday morning to global leaders, emphasizing the advantages of patriotism and rebuffing "globalism." At the same time, a growing number of Democrats in Washington came out in favor of impeachment.

As reports emerged that Pelosi was prepared to launch a formal impeachment inquiry, Trump told reporters earlier Tuesday that the effort was premature and asserted it would help his reelection prospects in 2020.

"If [Pelosi] does that, they all say that's a positive for me in the election," Trump said. "You could also say who needs it. It's bad for the country."