Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) briefly scolded Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) for grinning during the Democrats’ impeachment press conference on Friday.
A clip from the Democrats’ press conference on Friday shows Harris smiling as she stood beside Schumer, causing the Senate minority leader to turn around and motion for Harris to stop. Harris immediately stopped, raised her eyebrows, and crossed her arms, the clip shows:
This is not the first time Harris has exhibited trouble maintaining a somber exterior throughout the Senate impeachment trial against President Trump. Cameras caught the former presidential candidate flashing a large grin before an interview with MSNBC in which she described the impeachment process, — the transfer of the two articles of impeachment, specifically — as a “solemn, serious moment.”
As Breitbart News detailed at the time:
Harris, who recently ended her ill-fated presidential campaign, is seen smiling at someone in the room before host Kasie Hunt questions her about the Senate’s upcoming impeachment trial against President Donald Trump. Once she realizes she is on a live shot, Harris’s demeanor swiftly changes. “This is a solemn, serious moment,” she says of the impeachment process. “These are the most serious charges brought in the history of our country against a president.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also faced backlash for failing to maintain a solemn exterior, despite calling impeachment “so sad” and “so tragic for our country.” She smiled as she signed the two articles of impeachment against the president and distributed pens in a celebratory manner following the signing ceremony:
A photo also captured Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), one of the recipients of the impeachment pens, triumphantly holding it up, smiling.
Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow highlighted the Democrats’ celebratory nature in the Senate chamber this week.
“Judge Starr laid out before you the solemn nature of these proceedings,” Sekulow said this week, asking lawmakers to “contrast the solemn nature of these proceedings” with what took place as Pelosi signed the articles of impeachment.
“Pens distributed to the impeachment managers. A celebratory moment,” Sekulow stated. “Think about that. Think about this. A pointed moment”: