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Does Trump Actually Respect Adam Schiff?

After former FBI Director James Comey’s hearing last March, President Trump reportedly declared begrudging respect for Democratic rival Adam Schiff, Axios reports.

As the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff has become one of the most prominent critics of Trump, even garnering himself the nickname “Liddle Adam Schiff” from Trump.

Most recently, Schiff said that Trump acts like “someone who is compromised” by Putin.

But despite heated tweets and insults lobbed back and forth, a senior Trump administration official reportedly told Axios that Trump was impressed by Schiff’s opening statement in the Comey hearing.

According to Axios, in September or October, about six months after the actual hearing, Trump told an aide how “impressive” he found the statement.

“Trump was like, ‘I watched that [Schiff’s statement] and thought I had committed a crime!’” A source that discussed the events with Trump told Axios.

In the meantime, the two continue to exchange candid thoughts and reactions on Twitter.

Juliana Kaplan is a news intern at The Forward. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter, [@julianamkaplan](https://twitter.com/julianamkaplan

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