The narrative from Donald Trump and some of his top allies seems to have shifted a bit today when it comes to Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway may have said yesterday that “This woman should not be insulted and she should not be ignored,” but it looks like Trump doesn’t exactly share that sentiment today. Instead, he is defending Kavanaugh, blaming the timing of this accusation on Democrats saying, “you don’t wait until the end of the hearing and suddenly bring it up.” He spoke briefly on the matter today during a news conference with the President of Poland.
Trump on Kavanaugh allegation: “I feel so badly for him that he's going through this, to be honest with you. I feel so badly for him. This is not a man that deserves this. This should have been brought to the fore — it should have been brought up long ago.” pic.twitter.com/sFlw2iLt6n
— Axios (@axios) September 18, 2018
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seems to have compared notes with Trump continuing with the theme that Democrats are just using this to be obstructionists. It’s as if he forgot all about obstructing Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court back in 2015.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says it's "disturbing" that Democrats did not reveal information on Kavanaugh accuser earlier: "It's pretty obvious this is all about delaying the process, but the accuser certainly does deserve a right to be heard" https://t.co/5I2oi6QWiY pic.twitter.com/zP7HRdLrvY
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 18, 2018
Delay seems to be Senate Ds main objective. By withholding relevant information, my friend from California caused this unfortunate situation. https://t.co/uLyuh9lM4G
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) September 18, 2018
Meanwhile, with Kavanaugh’s accuser still not committed to appearing before the Senate Committee yet, one Republican on the fence, says that would make his decision easier. Politico reports:
Indeed, one of the critical remaining undecided Republicans on Kavanaugh suggested that he wouldn’t oppose moving ahead on the confirmation if Ford decides to forgo testimony.
“I don’t know how they can say: I’m just not going to appear. She has the option of a closed session, with cameras or without. We want her to appear. And then she has said, before we made the decision that she wanted to appear. So that’s what we want,” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said after he and other Judiciary Committee Republicans met with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for nearly an hour.
It’s clear though whether or not Ford testifies, this matter isn’t just going to fade away.
I am here today to say: once again, women are watching, and we’re not going to allow that to happen again. pic.twitter.com/gcUTDEoVcg
— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) September 18, 2018