Media

Media Slobbers All Over Schiff As He Goes On To Lobby Against Democracy

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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House Impeachment Manager Adam Schiff delivered a two-and-a-half hour opening statement Wednesday in the Senate trial of President Donald Trump, and multiple media personalities were quick to praise him for it.

The Washington Post’s Greg Miller lauded the California Democrat as “the most underestimated politician California has ever produced.”

Jennifer Rubin called Schiff’s opening statement “the most brilliant legal presentation I have heard.”

New York Times Columnist appeared to argue that, if America were a “functioning Democracy,” Schiff’s opening statement “would be the beginning of the end of the Trump nightmare.”

And the praise didn’t stop at Twitter. MSNBC host and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough took a moment on “Morning Joe” to call Schiff’s lengthy statement a “virtuoso performance.” (RELATED: ‘Schumer Is The Devil!’: Protester Bursts Into Senate Gallery)

Joyce Vance, the first female U.S. Attorney appointed by former President Barack Obama, sat down just hours later with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd to discuss the statement.

“I thought yesterday there was a powerful moment Adam Schiff looked to the Senators and said demand the documents, demand the truth,” Vance said. “I thought this is the first time we heard a battle cry from Democrats because you don’t know what else is out there until you’ve seen it.”

Chuck Todd went on to note that, following the opening statement, it appeared that even some Republicans conceded that Schiff had done a good job. “Even if they didn’t like Adam Schiff, [they] were impressed with his presentation, most notable person being Lindsey Graham,” Todd said. “I thought Adam Schiff had a command of that case in a way that the other impeachment managers didn’t.”

MSNBC’s Garrett Haake agreed, saying that at least one Republican had described Schiff to him as “a worthy adversary.”

Chuck Todd later appeared to concede that, while he felt Schiff had done a good job presenting the case, the fact that he went on for over two hours might not have done him any favors.

“I felt like Democrats were both trapped by their detail at times with the tedious laying it out and at the same time you also saw Adam Schiff’s command,” he explained, adding, “Part of me wonders, Adam Schiff’s first 20 minutes, last 20 minutes, if that’s all anybody saw, I think Democrats would be happy.”

What none of them mentioned was the fact that in that very same speech, Schiff launched an attack on democracy itself — arguing that impeachment was the only solution because the ballot box could not be trusted to deliver a referendum on the president.

Some were even quick to suggest that what Democrats really feared was that the American people might deliver a referendum on the president that they did not like.

The Senate trial is set to resume Thursday at 1 pm.