President Trump’s defense team is expected to offer only brief, preliminary remarks on Saturday, reserving the bulk of its argument for Monday when more people will be watching TV, according to senior Republican figures.
The tactic reflects the president’s desire to have a made-for-television defense. On Friday, he complained that his team had been relegated to a “Death Valley” scheduling slot during the weekend when no one would be watching.
Instead, a source close to the Republican leadership said Trump’s lawyers would offer a truncated defense and speak for only a portion of their Saturday time before resuming after Sunday’s day off.
After having been treated unbelievably unfairly in the House, and then having to endure hour after hour of lies, fraud & deception by Shifty Schiff, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer & their crew, looks like my lawyers will be forced to start on Saturday, which is called Death Valley in T.V.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2020
“The real meat of the thing will start on Monday,” he said.
Either way, they would not be using the full 24 hours allotted for opening statements.
“They will say what they need to say and then get out,” he said. “Unlike the House managers who have beaten everyone over the head with it, they will be more concise.”
The strategy reflects the style of a president with a background in a top-rated reality TV show and who sees things with the eye of a producer. At times he has taken control of lighting arrangements before interviews and makes key appointments based on whether candidates look the part.
At the same time, Trump allies have taken the view that a faster trial with maximum public impact is the best approach. They believe that long, wordy statements and repeating details are turning viewers off.
The trial result they are concerned about will come not in the Senate — Democrats know they cannot muster the votes needed to remove Trump — but in court of public opinion. A shorter defense avoids offering credibility to the Democrats’ case and will stick better in viewers’ minds, they believe.
“The focus is on getting it done,” said a senior administration official. “The American people and the president want this stuff to come to its completion.”
The Democrat-controlled House last month impeached Trump on two charges: obstructing Congress and abusing his power by withholding aid to Ukraine to pressure its president to investigate Joe Biden’s son and his work with a Ukrainian energy company.
It is understood that Republican senators particularly want to hear about the contrasting way Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama viewed Ukraine.
While Obama denied lethal assistance to Kyiv in its struggle against Moscow, for fear of inflaming regional tensions, Trump approved the provision of sniper rifles, rocket launchers, and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
Administration officials argue that the previous reluctance to supply such aid shows that any pause in supplying assistance is not evidence of abuse of power or a quid-pro-quo.
