Donald Trump mocks accuser’s testimony on Kavanaugh assault
● US president makes fun of ‘holes’ in Ford’s claims over school attack
US president Donald Trump ignited a crowd at a campaign rally in Mississippi by mocking a woman who has claimed she was sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh decades ago.
The audience laughed as Mr Trump ran through a list of what he described as holes in Prof Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
She testified that Mr Kavanaugh pinned her on a bed, tried to take off her clothes and covered her mouth at a party in the early 1980s when the two were teenagers. Mr Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
“How did you get home? ‘I don’t remember’,” Mr Trump said at the rally in Southaven. “How did 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. I don’t know. I don’t know’.”
Imitating Prof Ford, he added: “But I had one beer. That’s the only thing I remember.”
It marked the sharpest criticism by Mr Trump of Prof Ford since she came forward publicly with the allegation last month. He had previously called Prof Ford a “very credible witness”.
Prof Ford’s lawyer Michael Bromwich called Mr Trump’s attack “vicious, vile and soulless”.
“Is it any wonder that she was terrified to come forward and that other sexual assault survivors are as well?” Mr Bromwich tweeted. “She is a remarkable profile in courage. He is a profile in cowardice.”
Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake said on NBC mocking “something this sensitive at a political rally is just not right”. “I wish he hadn’t done it,” Mr Flake said. “It’s kind of appalling.”
Mr Flake is a key vote in the confirmation battle and, while he said last week he would vote to confirm Mr Kavanaugh, he
also called for an expanded FBI investigation that resulted in a one-week delay. He has not said how he will vote if the nomination comes up this week.
The president was in Mississippi on Tuesday looking to use his influence to sway the outcome of a low-profile election that could tip the balance of the Senate.
As Republicans fight headwinds ahead of the 6 November midterm election, Mr Trump sought to rally his supporters behind Senator Cindy Hyde-smith, who was
appointed to fill the seat of Republican Thad Cochran, who retired in April.
She faces three candidates – Republican Chris Mcdaniel and Democrats Mike Espy and Tobey Bernard Bartee – in next month’s special election for the remainder of the twoyear term.
“She’s always had my back,” Mr Trump said. “She’s always had your back. And a vote for Cindy is a vote for me.”
But Mr Trump spent much of the rally lamenting the treatment of Mr Kavanaugh by Democrats, whose attacks, he said, had taken their toll on the judge’s family.
“A man’s life is in tatters,” he said. Of Democrats, he added: “These are really evil people.”
Mr Trump even raised questions about the drinking habits of Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy in an attempt to turn the tables on Democrats who have gone after Mr Kavanaugh’s beer drinking claims. Mr Trump told the crowd they should do an online search for “Patrick Leahy slash drink”. Mr Leahy’s office didn’t return a message seeking comment.
Some Republicans and White House allies have suggested the allegations against Mr Kavanaugh can be potent political fodder in the run-up to the midterm election.
Republican officials and the White House expect Ms Hydesmith’s race to go to a run-off under the state’s rules that force a showdown between the top two finishers if no candidate wins at least 50 per cent of the vote. “Your vote in this election will decide which party controls the United States Senate,” Mr Trump said.