Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hearing makes for must-see TV drama
NEW YORK — The nation’s political divide and the burgeoning #MeToo movement played out in a riveting daytime drama Thursday before millions of Americans watching the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Anger, tears, sex, power — it was all on display.
California psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford, acknowledging she was “terrified” to be on stage, told of being sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh at a high school party. Hours later, Kavanaugh, getting choked up at times, denied the accusations and denounced a process he called “a national disgrace.”
“Just as you could feel emotional with her, you could feel emotional with him,” said CNN’s Gloria Borger of the event, shown all day by the major networks.
Many TV commentators suggested Ford’s testimony was compelling. Perhaps most significantly, some of them were on Fox News Channel, where Chris Wallace called it “a disaster for the Republicans.” That’s the network President Donald Trump tuned to for the coverage and whose opinion hosts have been most vociferous in backing the nominee.
Wallace’s Fox News colleague Brit Hume observed: “The more hesitant, the more fragile she has seemed, the more credible and powerful she seems to the audience.”
Yet after Kavanaugh appeared, Hume liked how he fought back. “I don’t think it diminishes his credibility one bit,” he said. “I think it enhances his credibility.”
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer suggested people watching in their homes were crying as they listened to Ford’s story. NBC’s Savannah Guthrie said Ford’s description of Kavanaugh and a friend of his laughing uproariously during the alleged attack is a moment that will resonate with many.