Supporters, foes sit in judgment, or not
They declared President Donald Trump innocent before they’d even taken their impeachment trial oaths. But before they can formally absolve him, Trump’s top Senate allies had to sit at their desks while House Democrats presented their case.
To help pass the time last week, some Trump advocates carried in a book or other reading materials. A handful, including U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, were spotted with fidget spinners.
One, the junior senator from Idaho, fell asleep during a long procedural debates.
Up in the gallery, actress Alyssa Milano was seated on the front row for much of the time, watching intensely as the proceedings unfolded.
She was a regular fixture the first two days.
“We need to show up to protect our republic and our democracy,” she told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday.
“It’s very easy nowadays to not show up because we can watch it on our computers and our phones and, obviously, every single channel. But I think it’s important to be there and to be present.”
If she was sitting in judgment instead of the gallery, she’d be voting to remove Trump from office, she said.
“I think the evidence is really clear,” she said.
Initially, one could dismiss the dispute as partisan politics, she said. That’s no longer the case, she added.
“It’s now become a national-security threat,” she said. “I think we’ve reached a boiling point. … The country is less safe with him as president and I do believe he needs to be removed.”