The U.S. Senate voted 56-44 that the trial of former president Donald Trump is constitutional, after nearly five hours of opening arguments from prosecution and defense attorneys. Six Republicans broke ranks to vote with the Democrats, and by most accounts the Democratic attorneys for the prosecution did a far better job than the president’s attorneys, David Schoen and Bruce Castor.
In fact, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, one of the six Republican Senators who voted against Trump on Tuesday specifically said he voted “for the side that did a good job” because the Trump attorneys were so bad.
Senator Cassidy was not the only Republican disappointed with the defense.
CBS News’ Nancy Cordes reports trump’s defense attorneys “appeared to confuse” the Senators. “They were looking at each other. They were whispering. It was almost as if you had gone to a math class and got an English lesson instead.”
CNN’s Manu Raju says there was “lots of criticism” from Republicans.
One of the most stalwart Trump supporters in the Senate, John Cornyn, panned the defense:
Senator Ted Cruz was not impressed:
Nor was Lisa Murkowski:
Susan Collins was “perplexed.”
Of course, it wasn’t just Republican Senators who were displeased: