Which network does Donald Trump watch? Ex-POTUS is 'quietly' watching trial with no Twitter to vent anger: Report
Donald Trump's historic second impeachment trial began in the Senate on Tuesday, February 9, and the former president is already reportedly displeased with the proceedings as he continued to watch it on his current preferred network. Trump is now a resident at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and was reportedly screaming as Bruce Castor, who fumbled through the opening argument, struggled to get to the heart of the team's argument regarding the constitutionality of the trial.
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Castor and David Schoen — Trump's legal team for the impeachment trial — reportedly swapped speaking slots at the last minute after they felt that the House managers' presentation was "well done," in an effort to lower the emotional temperature in the Senate before Schoen took over.
However, a Politico report suggested that Trump was getting "increasingly frustrated" over the sharp contrast between his legal team's underwhelming response and the prosecution's opening statement, which included a video presentation of Trump's alleged call for people to march to the Capitol falsely claiming that the elections were "stolen" from him prior to the failed insurrection attempt at the US Capitol.
Politico also reported that some people close to his defense team quit watching the proceedings out of sheer frustration with Castor's presentation and were confused by his refusal to use graphics or a video — which Trump had hoped to use. The publication also reported that Trump had been watching Newsmax throughout the day, according to a person familiar with the former President's viewing habits. However, The Guardian commented that it was not known which network Trump was watching presently.
Newsmax had cut away during the trial proceedings to a segment featuring Trump's former impeachment attorney, Alan Dershowitz, who said that he had no idea what Castor was doing. Dershowitz said, "The American people are entitled to an argument… but this, just, after all kinds of very strong presentations on the part of the House managers… it does not appear to me to be effective advocacy.”
Trump's current situation is notably different from his first impeachment trial, during which he kept up a running commentary on Twitter, at one point posting 142 tweets in a single day. These tweets included him commenting on the day's events, calling a Democratic presidential candidate "a loser," and sought to discredit the Democrats' impeachment case.
Following the January 6 riots at the US Capitol, Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms. According to The Washington Examiner, a former Trump adviser said that Trump had followed his advice to "purposely — and very smartly" go quiet. For much of his post-presidency stay, Trump had played golf at his West Palm Beach golf club and took a break to watch the impeachment trial proceedings. The publication also reported that Trump spent Tuesday afternoon "quietly" watching the trial — in contrast to other reports.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has said he will not be watching Trump's second impeachment proceedings as he continues to focus on the Covid-19 pandemic, saying, "I tell people that I have a job... We have already lost over 450,000 people and we could lose a whole lot more if we don't act and act decisively. A lot of people, as I have said before, children are going to bed hungry. A lot of families are food insecure. They are in trouble. That's my job."