Trump watches impeachment trial at Mar-a-Lago with no way to live-tweet

Former President Donald Trump spent Tuesday afternoon quietly watching television coverage of his second impeachment trial, according to multiple sources familiar with the schedule at his Mar-a-Lago home.

Meanwhile, President Biden said he would not be watching proceedings and would instead be focused on tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump's low-key afternoon stands in sharp contrast to his first trial when he kept a running commentary with 142 tweets and retweets — a then-presidential record — during just a single day of opening arguments. Of course, in the final days of his time as chief executive, Twitter banned him, citing a threat of a repeat of the Jan. 6 Capitol violence that led to his impeachment by the House and triggered the Senate trial, the first time any U.S. president has been the subject of two.

It means, this time, he left it to advisers and the Republican National Committee to lead his media and online defense.

A former Trump adviser said Trump had sensibly followed advice to keep his head down and his powder dry.

“It seems like he has purposely — and very smartly — gone quiet,” he said.

Trump has spent much of the past three weeks since leaving office playing golf. On Sunday, he relaxed at his West Palm Beach golf club at a Super Bowl watch party.

Trump remains banned from Twitter, which means his main means of communicating with supporters is through press releases issued by a new office he has established at Mar-a-Lago.

He was due to spend part of Tuesday in meetings, said another source.

Allies say they are biding their time, waiting for Trump's acquittal and to hear what he plans next.

“The verdict is assured, so he doesn’t need to do anything,” said a former White House official. “He can watch it on TV, or maybe he can show everyone what he thinks by just playing 18 holes one day.”

Instead, Trump’s team is working with the Republican National Committee to distribute talking points to supporters.