20 of the best reactions to Trump’s lawyer’s ‘incoherent’ opening statement at impeachment trial

Even though Donald Trump has been voted out of office, that doesn’t mean we’re done dealing with the consequences of his presidency.

On Tuesday, the unprecedented second impeachment trial of the former president came after a deadly Capitol riot in early January. House Democrats kicked off their prosecution with a harrowing video of the events and Trump’s lead defense lawyer responded in a way that left the internet – and even Trump himself – confused and bewildered. 

Bruce Castor stepped up to the floor of the Senate and rambled on for nearly an hour, with a statement that had very little relevance to the issue at hand. At first, he slipped and laughed off accidentally saying he was there to prosecute Trump… 

He then launched into a speech full of tangents, praising Nebraska as a “place of judicial thinking” and continued on a long digression about why people love their senators so much. 

The defense was confusing to many senators on the floor – even Lindsey Graham said after, "I thought I knew where it was going, and I really didn't know where it was going".

Apparently even Trump himself was quite unhappy, who was reportedly "screaming" at his TV at his Mar-a-Lago estate during Castor's meandering opening statement.

While the moment actually seemed just about right when it comes to Trump’s legal history (think Rudy Giuliani), this didn’t stop the internet from meme-ifying the ridiculous spectacle. While some thought it was "hilarious", others called the whole thing "ridiculous" and "completely incoherent" and "embarrassing".

Rapper Ice-T wrote on Twitter, “He shoulda used a Public Defender….” and “He musta got this Lawyer off Craig’s List…”

Others joked they thought the lawyer might be under the influence of something. 

Some compared his speech to something out of "The Simpsons" or "Futurama".

In fact, "My Cousin Vinny" was trending during the defense – a film that stars Joe Pesci as an unlikely lawyer, who gives a rambling opening statement that raises eyebrows throughout the courtroom.

Others were just generally baffled at what he was saying, and could not figure out what was going on.

Was it actually an SNL skit? 

It also gave off the same vibe as being in class... but not doing the readings:

At least it showed that no one should ever suffer from imposter syndrome:

Some were desperate to know what Trump was thinking as he watched (and thought maybe he should get Twitter back for just one day).

Some even jokingly questioned whether congress should start the trial over and impeach Castor himself for such a poor presentation.

But perhaps the funniest – and also most likely – guess is this: “Bruce Castor talking in circles hoping we eventually forget what day it is”.