Donald Trump convened a press conference in the Rose Garden on Monday to celebrate the rebranding of NAFTA and predictably, he was peppered with questions about Brett Kavanaugh.
Over the weekend, multiple outlets reported that the White House is effectively trying to limit the scope of the probe which, frankly, is so predictable that it’s hardly worth reporting. The administration denied any efforts to stymie or otherwise undermine the inquiry.
To be fair to Trump, a press conference about trade really isn’t the appropriate forum for Kavanaugh questions, but then again, the fact that the investigation into the President’s SCOTUS nominee is limited to a week (or at least that was the going assumption headed into the weekend), reporters have every right to extract whatever information they can in the time allotted.
Suffice to say Trump was unable to dodge the questions, although he gave it his best shot. Here he is attempting to deflect:
It got worse from there. Here’s Trump defending Kavanaugh on the way to literally growling about Democratic devils:
Asked whether Kavanaugh himself should be interviewed by the FBI, Trump said that’s fine, but then, in a rather remarkable turn, he suggested he knows of a Democratic Senator who has a “very bad” drinking problem:
That may well be true (if there’s any group of people that drinks more than frat boys, it’s politicians), but I’m not sure the Rose Garden is the appropriate forum for that allegation.
But undoubtedly the “best” moment came when Trump weighed in on Kavanaugh’s now infamous “beer” comments which have since become a viral meme. Do note how exasperated the President gets when the reporter says “I have two questions about Judge Kavanaugh”:
Obviously, none of that is helpful.
It goes without saying that reporters knew Trump would likely have a mini-meltdown if they asked him about Kavanaugh during a press conference held to extol the virtues of what the administration is calling “the greatest trade deal of all time, by far”.
As you can see, Trump didn’t disappoint.
What I couldn’t understand is why no journalist queried Trumps claim that tariffs had brought millions of dollars into the country and they were paid by the exporting company. This isn’t the first time he’s publicly made this claim without being called out for it.
yes, no one on the left or right seems to be aware that taxes/tariffs are passed along to the consumer. coporations dont just eat these costs….and if they did well that might impact eps over the next few quarters….