Weary senators and dragging impeachment arguments prompted suggestions from Democratic commentators that House impeachment managers should have ended their arguments sooner.
“Some of the House managers’ case is getting too repetitive,” tweeted Claire McCaskill, a former Democratic senator from Missouri and now an NBC commentator.
IMO some of the House managers’ case is getting too repetitive.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) February 11, 2021
Democratic House impeachment managers got through the bulk of their case that former President Donald Trump incited the insurrection at the Capitol on Wednesday and caught senators’ attention by revealing never-before-seen footage from Capitol security cameras during the attack.
On Thursday, managers sought in part to drive home the point that Trump had no remorse for inciting an insurrection and would be able to do so again if he is not reprimanded with a conviction on the impeachment charge. But much of the evidence consisted of similar statements and accounts from the Capitol breach and reminders of Trump’s previous controversial statements.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was “slumped over” in his chair, according to a pool report, and senators were clearly tired after two days of the impeachment trial split with other Senate business.
“Wondering if the managers would have been smart to quit and simply sum up with the lack of remorse argument after their incredibly tight powerful case yesterday?” tweeted former Democratic strategist David Axelrod.
Wondering if the managers would have been smart to quit and simply sum up with the lack of remorse argument after their incredibly tight powerful case yesterday?
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) February 11, 2021
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware alluded to the impeachment arguments dragging when the managers brought up an April 2020 protest at the Michigan Capitol, but he said that he saw the purpose of their arguments.
“When they started on the Michigan stuff, my gut reaction was like, ‘OK, come on, like, let’s focus,'” Coons said. “By the end of it, I’m like, ‘That’s really powerful.’ … It essentially was a dress rehearsal that it, it gave real clear evidence that Trump knew and understood that he could say certain things that his supporters would act on.”
Republicans were not shy about expressing their annoyance with the Thursday presentation.
“It’s just redundance, the same thing over and over again,” Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe said. “They’re losing credibility the longer they talk.”
