Trump was 'borderline screaming' and 'deeply unhappy' over his defense lawyers' performance at his impeachment trial, report says

• Former President Donald Trump was said to be unhappy with his impeachment lawyers' showing Tuesday.
• CNN reported that sources described Trump as "borderline screaming" on his trial's first day.
• The House charged Trump with "incitement of insurrection" over the January 6 Capitol riot.

Former President Donald Trump was said to be "deeply unhappy" with the defense at his impeachment trial on Tuesday, according to CNN.

Multiple sources familiar with the former president's reactions told CNN that Trump was "borderline screaming" over his defense attorneys' performance Tuesday - the trial's first day - particularly taking issue with his attorney Bruce Castor Jr.'s rambling opening remarks.

Trump's team was also apparently confused over a last-minute decision to swap the order of his defense. Castor, who spoke first, had originally been scheduled to speak after the attorney David Schoen. People close to Trump thought their new strategy wasn't strong and did not appreciate when Castor praised the opposing side during his arguments, CNN reported.

"I'll be quite frank with you. We changed what we were going to do on account that we thought that the House managers' presentation was well done," Castor said during his remarks.

The New York Times similarly reported that Castor's praise of the Democrats' case particularly infuriated Trump.

The outlet also reported that some members of Trump's legal team were surprised by prosecutors' choice to show raw video clips from the day of the attack, despite Democrats indicating for days that they would do so.

One source familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast that Trump was even considering pulling Castor from his legal team, leaving the remaining arguments on the shoulders of the rest of the defense, Schoen in particular.

Trump's impeachment trial is likely to continue through the week. The House impeached Trump on January 13 on a charge of "incitement of insurrection" related to the deadly Capitol riot on January 6. The main argument by the former president's legal team has been that his impeachment trial is unconstitutional because Trump no longer holds public office. Many legal scholars have dismissed the theory, and the Senate voted 56-44 on Tuesday in favor of the trial's constitutionality.

At least a handful of Republican senators said Trump's defense was executed poorly. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who was among six Republicans who joined Democrats in declaring the impeachment trial constitutional, called Trump's lawyers "unfocused."

Still, the trial is likely to end in Trump's acquittal, as every Democratic senator and 17 Republicans would have to vote "yes" to convict the former president. A majority of Republicans have previously signaled that they do not support his impeachment.