Why Is David Schoen Always Holding His Head During Impeachment Trial?

Getty Photos show David Schoen holding his head.

David Schoen is one of President Donald Trump’s lawyers during the Senate trial over his second impeachment. Some impeachment observers were focused on a triviality: They wondered why Schoen holds or touches the top of his head when he drinks water.

The Jerusalem Post explained that Schoen’s head holding is likely due to the fact that he’s an Orthodox Jew. The site explained:

Whenever observant Jews drink or eat, they typically recite a blessing that includes the name of God before and after doing so. Jewish law, known as halacha, stipulates that in order to say God’s name, you should have your head covered. Based on this fact, it’s likely that Schoen covered his head with his hand while he recited a blessing before drinking from his water bottle.

However, the site noted, “Even observant Jews expressed confusion about why Schoen repeated his hand motion every time he drank. Religious law only requires a blessing before one’s first bite (or sip) and after eating or drinking is completed.”

GettyIn this screenshot taken from a congress.gov webcast, David Schoen, defense lawyer for former President Donald Trump drinks some water as he speaks on the first day of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial.

Here’s what you need to know:


Schoen Is Becoming the Face of Trump’s Impeachment Legal Team

According to CNN, Trump’s attorney David Schoen “will be the face of Trump’s legal team publicly,” after criticism over the performance of another of his attorneys. .

Trump’s team “will try to maximize Schoen as the face of the legal team until Friday evening when he will observe the Jewish Sabbath,” CNN reported.

Schoen offered a vigorous defense of Trump after Democrats played a more than 13-minute montage that spliced together footage from Trump’s January 6 rally with scenes of rioters at the Capitol. “They say you need this trial before the nation can heal,” Schoen said, according to CNN. “I say our nation cannot possibly heal with it.”

He added, “Many Americans see this process for exactly what it is: a chance by a group of partisan politicians seeking to eliminate Donald Trump from the American political scene and seeking to disenfranchise 74 million-plus American voters.”


Schoen Has Discussed Why He Doesn’t Wear a Yarmulke During Impeachment Proceedings

However, Schoen didn’t wear a kippa (yarmulke) head covering like most Orthodox Jews, according to Distractify. He told CNN, “I just wasn’t sure if it was appropriate, frankly. I didn’t want to offend anyone…It’s just an awkward thing and people stare at it.”

He told reporter Ali Zaslav that Senate leaders have “been very gracious about this whole Sabbath observance.”

On Twitter, people were bafflied why Schoen kept holding his head. Here are some of the reactions:

“David Schoen drinking water holds the top of his head while he takes the drink. Holding hair in place? Anybody else curious to this?”

“Why is David Schoen holding the top his head when he sips from his water bottle??”

“I really am curious as to why Attorney David Schoen keeps holding his head every time he drinks water… Anybody know? #ImpeachmentTrial”

“Glad someone else is watching this, why is David Schoen holding the top of his head every time he drinks water? Holding down a sparse toupee?”

“Why does David Schoen keep holding the top of his head when he takes a sip of water? EVERY TIME!”

“As for David Schoen, at first I thought, what was with holding his head each time he had a drink of water? Is it some sort of Trump associated affliction? Trump needed two hands to drink from a bottle of water, this guy has to hold his head on when he drinks.”

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