Woman claiming Kavanaugh sex assault ‘mocked’ by Trump at rally
DONALD TRUMP mocking a woman accusing his Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault appeared to backfire yesterday as three wavering Republican senators criticised the comments.
He parodied the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, the Californian professor making the claim, who has admitted not remembering significant details about the alleged incident.
Jeff Flake, the Republican senator from Arizona, said the president’s remarks were “appalling” while Susan Collins, the Republican senator from Maine, called them “just plain wrong” and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said it was “wholly inappropriate”. A vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to join America’s top court is expected later this week after the FBI completes its investigation.
However, the result hangs in the balance. If just two Republican senators vote no his candidacy is likely to fail.
Mr Trump had initially avoided criticism of Prof Ford, who accused Mr Kavanaugh, 53, of pinning her on a bed and groping her at a high-school house party in 1982, calling her a “very credible witness” after she gave testimony to the Senate committee last week.
However, addressing cheering supporters at a rally in Southaven, Mississippi, on Tuesday, Mr Trump adopted a mocking tone and pointed to gaps in her memory of the alleged incident.
“I had one beer. Well, do you think it was – nope, it was one beer,” Mr Trump said, playing out an imaginary question and answer session with Prof Ford about the incident. “How did you get home? I don’t remember. How’d you get there? I don’t remember. Where is the place? I don’t remember. How many years ago was it? I don’t know.”
He went on: “What neighbourhood was it in? I don’t know. Where’s the house? I don’t know. Upstairs, downstairs? I don’t know – but I had one beer. That’s the only thing I remember. And a man’s life is in tatters.”
Prof Ford has made clear since first going public that she does not remember some key details. She believes the party took place in the summer of 1982 but has not named a date or month.
She does not remember where the party was or how she got home, but alleges that the assault took place in a bedroom upstairs.
Mr Trump’s comments were rebuked by senators whose votes are crucial if Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination is to pass, including Mr Flake whose call for an FBI inquiry into sexual misconduct claims delayed the vote by a week.
He said yesterday: “There’s no time and no place for remarks like that. To discuss something this sensitive at a political rally is just not right, it’s just not right. It’s kind of appalling.”
Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, rejected criticism of Mr Trump’s comments, saying: “The president was stating the facts.”
Kellyanne Conway, a counsellor to the president, said Prof Ford had “been treated like a Faberge egg by all of us, beginning with me and the president”. She said Mr Trump was merely “pointing out factual inconsistencies”.
Fox News reported that a former boyfriend of Prof Ford’s had said in a sworn statement that she had never mentioned the alleged assault during their six-year relationship. He was not named in the broadcast.
The FBI investigation is due to be completed imminently and a Senate panel vote could come as early as tomorrow. Mr Kavanaugh has categorically denied Prof Ford’s allegation.