Washington | On the first day of his second impeachment trial, former US president Donald Trump was mostly hidden from view at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, moving from the new office that aides set up to his private quarters outside the main building.

Mr Trump was said to have meetings that were put on his calendar to coincide with his defence team’s presentation and keep him occupied. But he still managed to catch his two lawyers, Bruce Castor and David Schoen, on television – and he did not like what he saw, according to two people briefed on his reaction.