A Trump Lawyer Got Laughed At After Saying ‘Phillydelphia’ During His Client’s Impeachment Trial

The Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump is serious business: It will see whether or not Republican lawmakers feel that a president accused of endangering their lives, to say nothing of democracy itself, is actually punished for his actions. But there have also been plenty of breakout instant comedy classics. There were My Cousin Vinny jokes. There were the two bizarre separate montages of Democrats (and Madonna!) simply saying “fight.” And on Saturday another member of the former president’s legal team got mocked for saying “Phillydelphia.”

https://twitter.com/AlexThomas/status/1360609741731471366

His name is Michael van der Veen, and while he hasn’t received as much attention as his colleagues Bruce Castor and David Schoen, that changed on day five of the trial. Van der Veen was speaking out against Democrats’ upcoming vote to call witnesses — which eventually went through, with some help from pro-Trump senator Lindsey Graham — and he even suggested, absurdly, that anyone called should be deposed in his office in Philadelphia.

But van der Veen didn’t pronounce it correctly. He called it “Phillydelphia.”

Laughter exploded across the chamber, and it even left van der Veen confused. “I don’t know why you’re laughing?” he even told the crowd.

And so van der Veen became the latest legal representative to become a figure of social media fun.

https://twitter.com/ChaseMit/status/1360609228201758723

https://twitter.com/ShaneCoolbaugh/status/1360609095116611591

https://twitter.com/RoArquette/status/1360613355828830216

Even the TCM fan account got on it (and, yes, The Philadelphia Story is airing late night Saturday).

As did Fox News.

One person charitably offered a theory about van der Veen’s slip.

But others pointed out that van der Veen uttered many more ridiculous things than that.

Anyway, hope the possibly broke president is paying these lawyers well enough to be so publicly humiliated!