Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Wednesday slammed former President Donald Trump's impeachment defense team and said he is surprised they weren't fired after Tuesday's arguments before the Senate.
"I have no idea what they thought were doing," said Gingrich on Fox News' "The Faulkner Focus." "There is a good case to be made. I thought they were going to make it. I think it is amazing they only lost one Republican, given the absolute lack of a coherent defense."
He added that he does not think he's "ever seen as bad a defense team" as Trump impeachment lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen were, based on their arguments to the Senate during the hearing to determine if proceeding with the impeachment was constitutional.
While responding to reports that Trump was angered by his attorneys, he added that he himself also would have been surprised by his team, compared to the "professionalism, preparedness, and articulation" by the Democrat House impeachment managers.
"I'm surprised he didn't fire him during the afternoon, it was that bad," said Gingrich. "I think, you know, bad lawyers can lose good cases. That's the danger here. The case, basically, is very hard for the left to make. The fact is, that is to say to 75 million Americans that we'll dictate to you who you are allowed to vote for is not sustainable. It is not going to happen."
On the other hand, the Democrats are trying to "scar up Trump" to weaken him, but the long-term effect will be virtually zero, said Gingrich.
"Trump's greatest ally is [President] Joe Biden," said Gingrich. "Every time Biden does something that is destructive it further reminds the Trump voters why it is unacceptable to allow the Washington politicians to dictate to the rest of us."
Meanwhile, Gingrich argued that the Democrats, in their impeachment arguments, have shifted the topic to the horrors of the Jan. 6 riot in order to create an impeachment against Trump.
"I think the Democrats, as the party of Hollywood, did a great job putting together a video and then managed to convince us that this was a vote about whether or not Jan. 6 was intolerable, unacceptable, and outrageous as opposed to something about Donald Trump," Gingrich said. "Well, everybody is going to say, I think, this was a totally unacceptable riot and that everybody who was engaged in rioting should be prosecuted and sent to jail. The Democrats very cleverly switched what the topic was."