These congressmen just get so emotional.
Several male members of the House Oversight Committee interrogating Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen today (Feb. 27) have been unable to hold their temper. Some Democrats and more Republicans resorted to shouting and displays of emotive behavior that give the halls of Congress a bad name.
The committee’s ranking Republican, Jim Jordan of Ohio, immediately let anger overtake his opening remarks, and he sounded irritable and shrill through that initial statement and beyond.
Rather than relying on logic and rationality, he resorted to raising his voice, directing his anger not just to Cohen, but to other members of the committee. His angry gestures—emphatically pointing his finger at a copy of Cohen’s opening testimony while shouting—were the highlight of his allotted time slots.
Jordan shouted pretty much every time he was given the floor, and adding a further element of sounding out of control as he resorted to sarcasm.
Mark Meadows, a Republican from North Carolina, also was unable to keep calm as he and Cohen interrupted one another. He eventually resorted to breaking in on Cohen to note “You are not a nice guy!”
Shortly after, Stephen Lynch, a Democrat from Massachusetts, shouted at a Republican colleague, using emphatic arm gestures to drive home his angered point.
Paul Gosar, a Republican from Arizona, angrily tried to piece together his comments, reaching a peak as he commented one of Cohen’s statement with this admonition: “Remember the old adage our moms taught us: ‘liar liar pants on fire!'”
The overall effect allowed Cohen—a convicted felon who has admitted his dishonesty—to come off as even-keeled, reasoned and measured. And he was not quite all that.