President Trump was pleased with the proceedings last Friday as his legal team rev up the base by using ten-minute video montage of Democrats uttering the word “fight.”
Few days after Trump’s lawyers faced bipartisan ridicule for their dull and unorganized opening argument, Trump’s defense attorneys earned a thumbs up on Friday as they trolled Democrats with their own words.
Trump's lawyers plays a 10 minute+ compilation video of Democrats using heated rhetoric:
"The house managers spoke about rhetoric, about a constant drumbeat of heated language. Which I’m sure everyone who is watching expected, we need to share some of their own words." pic.twitter.com/EGYYqBHVQ0
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 12, 2021
The defense attorneys of Trump released videos of Democrats as they complained about “cancel culture” and launched unfounded claims about the 2020 election. They also played footages featuring objections made by Democrats to the congressional certification of the Electoral College votes for Trump in the election last 2016.
The defense attorneys juxtaposed clips of Trump calling for “law and order” while footages of Democrats giving supportive words for nationwide protests last summer in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Said protests that at times turned violent as hundreds of business establishments were damaged.
In the coup de grace, Trump’s lawyers offered a ten minute video montage showing lawmakers and Hollywood stars vowing to “fight” Trump and Republicans. Later on, reports revealed that the word “fight” was uttered 238 times.
A video in which Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and other Democratic politicians uttered the word 'fight' 238 times, according to a count by the MSNBC TV network, was the most bizarre turn yet at Donald Trump’s impeachment trial https://t.co/U7aiSreIuR
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) February 13, 2021
David Schoen, Trump’s attorney said, “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s a word people use, but please stop the hypocrisy.”
What happened was that, Trump’s legal team viewed the matter more as a political fight than as a constitutional debate. With former President Trump’s nothing but assured aquittal, his legal team only used a fraction of the 16 hours given to them to go against critics, activate the MAGA faithful, and disregard prosecutorial questions with regard to Trump’s role, before and after the riot last January 6.
According to an aide, Trump “loved” what his defense lawyers did.
Meanwhile, one of Trump’s defense attorneys, Michael van der Veen, decried his second impeachment trial as a “constitutional cancel culture.” He even defended Trump’s claims about voter fraud, an issue which his initial defense team hoped to dodge.
Trump’s defense lawyers spent a bulk of their 2.5 hour defense showing footages that were noticeable absent from their previous presentation last Tuesday, an omission that infuriated the former President. Critics of the strtegy accused Trump’s defense lawyer of false equivalence. However, former Trump aide noted that Trump’s critics were not the intended audience of the footages.
Former aide said, “His base will be pleased, he had four hours of free television to pitch [to the public]. It became defending Trump as much as putting Democrats on trial.”
For two days, 100 Senate jurors and Americans at home watched footage showing the violence that transpired in the U.S. Capitol, racist insults that were thrown at law enforcement officials, and various statements uttered against another party.
Meanwhile, managers of the House weaved together a timeline of the riot that happened on January 6 in Capitol Hill, while zeroing in on Trump’s own history of deploying violent rhetoric to rev up his base. Said presentation made by the House managers were meant to convince senators that former President Trump was not only guilty of inciting insurrection but should also be disqualified from holding public office again.
However, even if the emotional arguments added a stain on Trump’s legacy, it did not budge many Senate Republicans who stood their ground in declaring the proceedings as unconstitutional.
Trump lawyers show video comparing Trump's statements promoting law and order to Democrat's controversial statements. https://t.co/VlT7z8drtO pic.twitter.com/CJ7uJjneIM
— Newsmax (@newsmax) February 12, 2021
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, said “I think the president’s lawyers just blew the House managers’ case out of the water.” He made said statement after leaving the upper chamber at the conclusion of their denfense. Johnson also added that former President Trump’s defense lawyers “legally eviscerated” the argument that was put forth by Democratic prosecutors.
As early as Saturday afternoon, the Senate could hold a final vote to convict or acquit former President Trump. This early judgment will happen only if the chamber decides to forego a potential motion to call witnesses.
