One thing’s certain: Hearing was riveting TV
NEW YORK — The nation’s political divide and the burgeoning #MeToo movement played out in a riveting daytime drama Thursday before millions of Americans who tuned in to the Capitol Hill hearing on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Raw fury, tears, sex, alcohol, power and partisanship — it was all on display.
The proceedings were shown all day on the nation’s major TV networks, starting with Christine Blasey Ford’s unwavering account in the morning and Kavanaugh’s equally emphatic response in the afternoon.
It was a whiplashinducing spectacle for television commentators, who went from practically burying Kavanaugh during the lunch break to reviving him later in the day.
Nowhere was that more clear than on Fox News Channel, where Chris Wallace at one point called Ford’s testimony “a disaster for the Republicans.” His colleague Brit Hume said that “the more hesitant, the more fragile she has seemed, the more credible and powerful she seems to the audience.”
That was significant since Fox is the preferred network of Kavanaugh’s supporters, including President Donald Trump.
Similarly, ABC’s Dan Abrams said Ford’s testimony was an “unmitigated disaster” for Republicans, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer suggested people were crying at home and NBC’s Savannah Guthrie said Ford’s description of Kavanaugh and a friend of his laughing uproariously during the alleged attack was a moment that would resonate with many Americans.
Yet the relief was visible at Fox following Kavanaugh’s forceful and oftencombative appearance and a message of support tweeted by the president. Hume liked how Kavanaugh fought back.
“I don’t think it diminishes his credibility one bit,” Hume said. “I think it enhances his credibility.”
Fox’s Andrew Napolitano said in the morning that Ford was “exceptionally credible.” After Kavanaugh talked, he said even people who opposed him had been moved by his defense.
During the afternoon session with Kavanaugh, GOP-hired prosecutor Rachel Mitchell was shunted aside, and the gloves came off. The visuals the Republicans had feared — male senators attacking a woman who was talking about a sexual assault — were no longer applicable.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham furiously attacked the Democrats on the panel, denounced the process as a “sham” and called Kavanaugh’s treatment “the most despicable thing I have ever seen in politics.”
Graham “may have just done more than a Trump rally to rally the base,” said NBC’s Chuck Todd.
Meanwhile, C-SPAN took calls from viewers during breaks in the testimony, and at times it seemed like an impromptu therapy group. At least seven callers told their own stories of being victims of sexual assault.
Fox News said late Thursday that it had fired one of its contributors, Kevin Jackson, because he referred to Kavanaugh’s accusers on Twitter as “lying skanks.”
Also, The New York Times deleted and apologized for a tweet that asked readers to vote on whether they thought Ford’s testimony credible. “In retrospect, a Twitter poll is insensitive in light of the gravity of the hearing,” the newspaper said.