You would have had to have been sleeping under a rock to not realize how upset Trump was about the hearing and the testimony of Marie Yovanovitch.
The hearing had no sooner started when Trump sent out a blistering tweet about the former Ukraine Ambassador.
Rep. Schiff, the committee chairman, stopped the hearing to read the tweet, then tried to play it off as witness intimidation.
I Have Freedom of Speech Too
While Democrats were all trying to say Trump’s tweet was mean to intimidate not only Yovanovitch but also other witnesses that may come forward, Trump said that was hardly the case.
All he was doing was using his First Amendment right to express and defend himself.
He stated, “You know what? I have the right to speak.
“I have freedom of speech just as other people do, but they’ve taken away the Republicans’ rights.”
That, however, was not what really set Trump off.
Silencing Republicans
The thing that really sent Trump off was how Adam Schiff constantly silenced Republicans during the hearing.
When Rep. Nunes tried to defer his time to Rep. Stefanik, Schiff shut him down.
Now, what Nunes did was not technically following the rules, but traditionally, this exception is never a problem when the minority leader wants to yield his or her time to another member.
Schiff’s conduct throughout the hearing was reprehensible, including at the end when he recognized himself then refused to allow Republicans to rebut his statement.
Trump stated, “It’s really sad when you see people not allowed to ask questions.
“I think it’s considered a joke.
“It’s a disgrace what’s happening.”
More important than Trump’s words were his tone, as he was clearly upset and sounds like he is ready to go to war.
At this point, as outrageous as this has been, I would still tell the President to calm down and let the Republicans do their jobs.
Anyone with common sense can see this hearing is rigged and eventually, Democrats are going to pay.
If not now, then on election day 2020 when they lose both the House and the presidential election.