Howard Kurtz: Media will use impeachment trial to ‘convict Donald Trump in the court of public opinion’

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Trump’s second impeachment trial will be ‘grand political theater’: Howard Kurtz

MediaBuzz host previews how the media will cover the upcoming trial on ‘America Reports.’

Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz predicts former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial will be "grand political theater" that will dominate media coverage.

"I think much of the media will use this trial, knowing the math, to try to convict Donald Trump in the court of public opinion," Kurtz said Monday on "America Reports."

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Trump’s second impeachment trial formally began Jan. 25, when senators were sworn in as jurors, and is set to resume Feb. 9. The former president is charged with incitement of insurrection related to the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill.

Last week, 45 Republican senators voted that the trial is unconstitutional because Trump has already left office. The Senate would need a 67-vote majority in order to convict the former president.

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In a recent Fox News article, Kurtz wrote that the impeachment efforts are "essentially toast" and that acquittal is "a foregone conclusion."

"Any flickering hope among Democrats to convict private citizen Donald Trump died when 45 of the 50 Senate Republicans voted that the entire proceeding is unconstitutional," Kurtz wrote.

Though he believes the outcome is already known, Kurtz told "America Reports" that media interest in the trial will remain high.

"It will be grand political theater where we all know what happens in the last act," the MediaBuzz host told John Roberts. "It will get saturation coverage because the media are going through withdrawal over the Trump show, which always delivers clicks and ratings."

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In addition, Kurtz said, media outlets will consider the trial newsworthy because it relates to the Capitol Hill riot.

"A trial that stems from the awful violence and ransacking of the Capitol is a genuinely important story, regardless of outcome," he said.

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Though Trump has left office, Kurtz believes he will continue to generate media coverage.

"Just as [President] Joe Biden is trying to focus on the opening act of his administration, the Trump show will be back," Kurtz said. "And there’s just no question it’s going to be on every screen."