Sen. James Lankford James Paul LankfordMcConnell works to lock down GOP votes for coronavirus bill Charities scramble to plug revenue holes during pandemic Warren calls for Postal Service board members to fire DeJoy or resign MORE (R-Okla.) said Sunday that a tweet from President Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE saying Rep. Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffTop Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence Overnight Defense: Top admiral says 'no condition' where US should conduct nuclear test 'at this time' | Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings Overnight Defense: House to vote on military justice bill spurred by Vanessa Guillén death | Biden courts veterans after Trump's military controversies MORE (D-Calif.) "has not paid the price" for "what he has done" to the U.S. was not "a death threat."

The senator defended the president on CNN’s "State of the Union" when host Jake Tapper Jacob (Jake) Paul TapperThe Memo: Media accused of using kid-gloves on Biden CNN slammed for soft questions during Biden town hall: 'The media is broken' Biden's team says he views election against Trump as 'Park Avenue vs. Scranton' MORE asked him about Trump’s tweet earlier Sunday morning targeting Schiff.

"I don’t think it’s a death threat. I don’t think he’s encouraging a death threat," Lankford said.

Lankford also called Trump’s tweet “political,” saying it was “no different than” when Schiff and Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiSunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election Trump is betting big on the suburbs, but his strategy is failing 'bigly' Trump orders flags at half-staff to honor 'trailblazer' Ginsburg MORE (D-Calif.) say “folks will be paying a price at the ballot box” or in the future.

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When Tapper asked if he was “offended” by the president’s tweet, Lankford responded that he is “offended only because Adam Schiff believes that the only reason that we act the way that we do is because the president's going to put our head on a pike.”

“He's saying, you're going to ignore all the facts, and you're only doing this because we're afraid of the president rather than we will actually be fair in the process and actually look at the facts,” he added.

The president in his tweet called Schiff a “CORRUPT POLITICIAN” and said he has “not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!”

Shifty Adam Schiff is a CORRUPT POLITICIAN, and probably a very sick man. He has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2020

Schiff, who is the lead House manager presenting the Democrats' impeachment case against Trump in the Senate trial, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the president's tweet was “intended to be” a threat.

The impeachment trial in the Senate began last week with the opening statements from both sides and will continue Monday.