Biden remembered those who were killed and called for unity going forward.
Former President Donald Trump's historic second impeachment trial ended with a 57-43 vote to acquit in the Senate. He faced a single charge of incitement of insurrection over his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Both Trump's legal defense and the House managers have wrapped up their arguments over the constitutionality of the impeachment.
The Senators are voting on whether or not the trial is constitutional.
Trump lawyer David Schoen, expanding on Bruce Castor's argument that the U.S. wasn't meant to follow the "British model," argued House Democrats held the impeachment article against Trump and forced an "intentional delay."
However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told soon-to-be Majority Leader Chuck Schumer he wouldn't bring the Senate back from recess early, in part, so that Trump's defense team could have time to prepare.
Schoen argued in his opening remarks that the nation cannot heal from the attack and unify so long as the trial moves forward, calling on senators to vote that the trial is unconstitutional in a vote later Tuesday because, he said, the trial lacks due process.
"They say you need this trial before the nation can heal, that the nation cannot heal without it. I say our nation cannot possibly heal with it," he said.
Schoen also stated as fact that "the trial in the Senate of a private citizen is not permitted" and said that only a "sitting president can be convicted and impeached," pointing to how Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts isn't presiding over the trial. However, Democrats cited legal scholars in their opening arguments debating the opposite.
"Trial by the Senate sitting at the court of impeachment is reserved for the president of the United States, not a private citizen who used to be president of the United States," he said. "This is the first time that the United States Senate has ever been asked to apply the constitution's textual identification of 'the president' and impeachment provisions to anyone other than the sitting president of the United States."
At one point, Schoen criticized House managers for, he said, using "a movie company and a large law firm" to package a video of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack to "chill and horrify you."
He went on to play a video accompanied with ominous music of Democrats calling for Trump's impeachment.
-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel
David Schoen, a member of Trump's legal team, rebutted the arguments by Democratic House managers. He insisted that the trial proceedings lacked due process from the beginning and said that the trial was rushed by the House for partisan reasons.
Schoen also attacked a claim by House managers that the impeachment would unite the nation.
"They say you need this trial before the nation can heal, that the nation cannot heal without it. I say, our nation cannot possibly heal with it," Schoen said. "With this trial, you will open up new and bigger wounds across the nation, for a great 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, and those who dare to share their political beliefs and vision of America."
Schoen also argued that the proceedings are partisan and showed a video featuring Democratic lawmakers calling for the impeachment of Trump over the past four years.
"They've called their fellow Americans who believe in their country and their constitution 'deplorables'. And the latest talk is that they need to deprogram those who supported Donald Trump and the Grand Old Party," Schoen said. "But at the end of the day, this is not just about Donald Trump or any individual, this is about our constitution and abusing the impeachment power for political gain."
A Trump adviser told ABC News' Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl there was "very clear, deliberative strategy" behind Castor's speech and that the intention was to lower the temperature from Democrats' emotional opening.
Wrapping up his 45 minutes of speaking time, Castor said the defense "changed" their presentation because the House case was so "well done" and vowed to answer the House arguments later.
"I'll be quite frank with you, we changed what we were going to do on a count that we thought that the House managers' presentation was well done, and I wanted you to know that we have responses to those things," he said. "We have counter arguments to everything that they raised and you will hear them later on in the case."
