On Wednesday, the House held its first public impeachment hearing. While there’s a lot more to come (hearings resume on Friday), the first day was still full of important information, including a big reveal from Ambassador William Taylor, which we’ll get into below. Alongside Taylor, Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent was first up, and all in, it was a doozy. Daily Kos has covered today’s hearing with a combination of live blogging, highlights from viral video footage, and meaty recaps.
Below, you can find the answers to seven questions that have been circulating on the internet today, including both the silly and the serious, with all relevant videos and links.
1. How do you really pronounce ‘Kyiv’?
“Keev” is correct if you want to be closer to the Ukranian pronunciation. Though many people in the United States pronounce it “Key-ev,” which is closer to the Russian pronunciation. Notably, if you want to get really technical, neither Kyiv nor Kiev is the correct spelling. It’s Київ in Ukrainian and Киев in Russian.
2. Did Trump watch it or not?
An excellent question! Did the sitting president watch today’s hearing? Allegedly, no. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham first said, “He’s in the Oval in meetings ... Not watching. He’s working.” Trump himself told reporters he was “too busy” to watch the first day of the public impeachment hearing. However, as Twitter shows us, Trump was retweeting with a fury while the hearing went on. Retweeting what, you might ask? Clips of the hearing, of course!
3. Why is everybody talking about George Kent’s bow tie?
If you’ve even glanced at Twitter, you’ve likely seen that a BuzzFeed staffer noticed that Kent wears the same bow tie during today’s hearing as he does in his State Department headshot.
Personal fashion choices aside, ties are the norm in the Capitol, not bow ties. Still, the bow tie is not an explicit violation of a dress code, nor is Kent even the first person to wear one in the Capitol, as noted by Vox. Kent, who has spent nearly 30 years working as a career foreign service officer, has a deep knowledge of Ukraine, which is what—ideally—people should be discussing.
Does the bow tie actually matter? No. But if it gets people who ordinarily don't watch a hearing like today’s to pause while scrolling social media to find out who Kent is and why people are talking about his outfit, it’s at least served a purpose.
4. What’s the deal with “Gym” Jordan?
His bizarre performance at today’s hearing aside, perhaps what the most venomous thing about Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is the allegation (and related lawsuits) that, while he was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University, the congressman knew about multiple young men who were being molested by Dr. Richard Strauss. Jordan has denied having this knowledge.
In terms of today’s performance, Jordan spoke fast, said little of substance, and certainly failed to actually defend Trump. The frequency that #GymJordan trended on social media is likely the cumulation of a few things: the allegations of him failing multiple survivors of sexual assault, his refusal to wear a suit jacket, and obviously, a play on his actual first name.
5. What was the big zinger from Kent toward the end?
An exciting back-and-forth between Democratic Rep. André Carson of Indiana and Kent has made waves on Twitter. It’s worth watching or reading the full exchange, but the highlight that really has people riled up is as follows:
REP. CARSON: Now, some in the Ukraine probably disliked her efforts to help Ukraine root out corruption, is that correct?
KENT: As I mentioned in my testimony, you can't promote principled anti-corruption action without pissing-off corrupt people.
Here’s that exchange:
6. Who called out Trump to come testify?
Ah, yes. The other viral moment from the latter part of Wednesday’s hearing was when, presumably exhausted after hearing Republicans dance around whether or not these witnesses were viable because they hadn’t had conversations with Trump themselves, Vermont Rep. Peter Welch challenged Jordan’s whining about the whistleblower, insisting they should testify since they’re the one “who started it.”
“I say to my colleague,” Welch said into the microphone, “I would be glad to have the person who started it all come in and testify. President Trump is welcome to take a seat right there.”
Here’s that clip:
(The rest of his statement, though less funny, was an important takedown of Trump’s abuse of power. Read about that here, too.)
7. Okay, fun and games aside, what’s the bombshell reveal?
If you’re looking for the big “What’s new about this?” answer, you’ll want to know this: In his opening statement, Taylor shared information that directly implicates Trump. As Taylor explained it, he learned this past Friday that a call occurred between Ambassador Gordon Sondland and Trump one day after the now-infamous call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On this newly revealed call, Trump again asked about investigations. How do we know this? According to Taylor, a member of his staff overheard this second call.
Here’s a clip to hear his explanation in full:
What stood out to you the most about today’s impeachment hearing? Let us know below!