Trump Tweets 'READ THE TRANSCRIPTS!' as His Support Among GOP Drops Ahead of Senate Impeachment Trial

President Donald Trump took to Twitter as the Senate impeachment trial began on Tuesday, while a new poll showed that Republican support for the president has slightly dipped in the lead up to the trial.

"READ THE TRANSCRIPTS!" tweeted Trump, referring to two rough transcripts of 2019 phone calls between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. A call that took place on July 25 was used as evidence in Trump's impeachment by the House. The president has repeatedly insisted the call was "perfect," while Democrats say it is incriminating for Trump, supporting the allegation that the president attempted to exchange foreign aid to Ukraine for the launching of an investigation of his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Trump's approval rating from Republicans fell slightly as the trial approached, according to a new Hill-HarrisX poll. The previous poll, taken on January 3 and 4, showed an all-time high of 90 percent of Republicans supporting the president. The new poll, taken on January 13 and 14, shows the president's Republican approval rating dropping to 86 percent.

However, support for Trump from independents rose slightly, from 40 percent to 43 percent. Democrats remained unimpressed by the president, with 82 percent disapproving, down slightly from 84 percent. The poll surveyed 1,001 registered voters and has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.

Early proceedings in the Senate trial mostly centered on trial rules and procedures. A Democratic effort to subpoena relevant documents and records from the White House was defeated along party lines. An opening statement from lawyers for Trump urged the chamber to dismiss the charges, claiming the president had "done absolutely nothing wrong."

The content and implications of the transcripts Trump urged his Twitter followers to read have been disputed. Although the conversation in the July 25 transcript does not explicitly set up a "quid pro quo" arrangement, it does reveal Trump asking Zelenskiy if he can "look into" Biden.

The version of the transcript released by the White House is labelled with a warning indicating that it is "not a verbatim transcript of a discussion." Testimony from Ukraine security expert Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was listening in on the conversation, suggested that the released version omitted key aspects of the call. Vindman also said that his attempts to amend the transcript fell on deaf ears.

Trump is currently in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, an annual gathering of heads of state, business leaders and other significant international figures. He is expected to return to Washington on Wednesday.

Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.