Trump backing his man

GLUED to high-stakes testimony on his Supreme Court nominee, President Donald Trump has been shaken by Christine Blasey Ford’s emotional testimony but heartened by Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s forceful pushback against the woman accusing him of sexual misconduct.

Mr Trump missed hardly a moment of the proceedings, relying on DVRs to keep up on the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing from his private office on Air Force One. Within moments of the eight-hour proceedings concluding, he Trump tweeted his approval of Mr Kavanaugh’s performance and called on the Senate to move swiftly to a vote.

“His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting,” Mr Trump said.

At a Republican fundraiser at his Washington hotel, Mr Trump described the hearing as “brutal” and “hard to watch” but praised Mr Kavanaugh’s performance. He described the judge as a “great guy” and a “great man”, according to an attendee who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ms Ford’s tearful recounting of allegations that Mr Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school, led Mr Trump to express sympathy for the judge and his family for having to listen to the testimony, according to two Republicans close to the White House.

After seeing Ms Ford’s testimony, White House aides and allies expressed concern that Mr Kavanaugh would have an uphill climb to deliver a strong enough showing to match hers. But White House officials believe Mr Kavanaugh’s passionate denials of Ms Ford’s claims, including the judge’s tearful description of the impact the accusations had on his family, met the challenge.