No real-life witnesses? Democrats have a workaround: Video clips from previous House hearings and cable news interviews. Trump’s media-pro defense team, meanwhile, comes to the floor with a staggering 1,368 combined appearances on Fox News . The four Democratic senators running for president suddenly forced into jury duty? They’re all but leaping in front of the cameras in the Capitol hallways.

And, like everything in contemporary Washington, lawmakers of all stripes are blaming all the made-for-TV drama on the other side, even as they jockey for viral moments in the YouTube era.

WASHINGTON — America’s first reality-TV president is now starring in the nation’s hottest show: his own made-for-TV impeachment trial.

New rules are keeping reporters penned outside the Senate chamber, so they can’t easily question senators, even as the TV interview station in the Capitol’s basement has grown so popular that lawmakers are literally lining up for TV hits.

This peculiar Washington spectacle reflects a trial destined to acquit Trump, which both sides will want to spin in their favor as the November election draws near. Spoiler alert: In the end, Trump will argue the trial vindicated him. Democrats will say they proved beyond any reasonable doubt that Trump and GOP lawmakers staged the cover-up of the century.

As both sides scramble to control the media narrative, they dismiss their opponents as mere grifters riffing for the cameras.

One of Trump’s most ferocious allies, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), pointed the finger at Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who’s leading the Democrats’ case against Trump.

“The whole case that was laid out by Adam Schiff was made for television.”

“The whole case that was laid out by Adam Schiff was made for television,” Meadows told VICE News. “He's been so redundant that it makes a Geico commercial look casual.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) begged to differ, of course — in front of an array of cameras.

“The arguments of the president's lawyers were like a Fox News show: A lot of finger-pointing and nothing to do with the actual facts,” Schumer said.

Digital witnesses

The key drama in Trump’s trial turns on Democrats’ attempts to convince GOP moderates to call fresh witnesses. For now, they’ve found a fix: Play the tape.