Former Vice President 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 (D) apologized on Tuesday for past comments referring to the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton as a "partisan lynching."

Biden made the apology on Twitter after CNN's Andrew Kaczynski reported that the vice president had made the remark in 1998 during an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. The term's historical and racial significance was hotly debated Tuesday after 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 used it to refer to his own impeachment inquiry in a tweet.

"This wasn’t the right word to use and I’m sorry about that," Biden tweeted Tuesday evening. "Trump on the other hand chose his words deliberately today in his use of the word lynching and continues to stoke racial divides in this country daily."

This wasn’t the right word to use and I’m sorry about that. Trump on the other hand chose his words deliberately today in his use of the word lynching and continues to stoke racial divides in this country daily. https://t.co/mHfFC8HluZ — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 22, 2019

Trump was heavily criticized by Democrats including Biden earlier in the day after he warned Republicans to "remember what they are witnessing here - a lynching," referring to Democrats' investigation into his efforts to persuade Ukraine's president to open a criminal probe into Biden.

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Numerous Democratic lawmakers including Rep. Bobby Rush Bobby Lee RushCongress should investigate OAS actions in Bolivia Rep. Bobby Rush introduces legislation focused on addressing racism, lack of diversity in the federal government House Democrat introduces bill to replace Confederate monuments nationwide MORE (D-Ill.), a civil rights activist and Black Panthers chapter founder, sharply criticized Trump over the tweet.

"You think this impeachment is a LYNCHING? What the hell is wrong with you?" Rush tweeted in response. "Do you know how many people who look like me have been lynched, since the inception of this country, by people who look like you. Delete this tweet.”