The Republican arrived in his native New York to give a speech honouring those who fought in the war only to receive a frosty welcome to Madison Square Gardens by anti-Trump demonstrators. On one building the word “IMPEACH” was spelled out, while another had “Dump Trump” on, which was scrawled from a red and yellow flyer and put on the window overlooking the area where the embattled leader gave his speech. Protesters shouted during his talk “lock him up!” and began whistling while he spoke.

The demonstrations come after only today the President blasted Democrats in the US House of Representatives as they prepared to enter a crucial new phase – the first public hearings – in their impeachment inquiry centred on his request that Ukraine investigate political rival Joe Biden.

This week US diplomats William Taylor, George Kent and Marie Yovanovitch are due to detail in public their concerns, previously expressed in testimony behind closed doors, that President Trump and his administration sought to tie £304million ($391million) in security aid to Ukraine to an investigation of the former US vice president and his son Hunter Biden.

The public testimony before the House Intelligence Committee will be carried by major broadcast and cable television networks and is expected to be viewed by millions of people, as Democrats seek to make the case for President Trump’s potential removal from office.

The panel’s Democratic chairman, Representative Adam Schiff, has been a target of the Republican president’s attacks since the impeachment probe was launched in September after a whistleblower within the US intelligence community brought a complaint against the Republican over his July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Democrats, who control the House, have argued that Trump abused his power in pressing a vulnerable US ally to carry out investigations that would benefit Trump politically.

Mr Biden is a leading contender for the Democratic nomination to face the Republican president in the 2020 election.

His son served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma.

President Trump has denied there was a quid pro quo – or exchanging a favour for a favour – in his dealings with Ukraine, defended his call with Zelenskiy as “perfect” and branded the probe a politically motivated “hoax.”

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The President wrote on Twitter today that the inquiry should be ended and the unnamed whistleblower, the whistleblower’s lawyer and “Corrupt politician” Mr Schiff should be investigated for fraud.

He said: “The lawyer for the Whistleblower takes away all credibility from this big Impeachment Scam! It should be ended and the Whistleblower, his lawyer and Corrupt politician Schiff should be investigated for fraud!”

Democrats, who control the House, consider the open hearings to be crucial to building public support for a vote on articles of impeachment – formal charges – against Mr Trump.

If that occurs, the 100-seat Republican-controlled Senate would hold a trial on the charges.

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Republicans have so far shown little support for removing Mr Trump from office, which would require two-thirds of senators present to vote to convict him.

No US president ever has been removed from office through the impeachment process.

It has been two decades since Americans last witnessed impeachment proceedings against a president.

Republicans, who then controlled the House, brought impeachment charges against Democratic President Bill Clinton in a scandal involving his sexual relationship with a White House intern.

The Senate voted to keep Clinton in office.

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