I regret to inform you that on Tuesday evening, at a rally in Mississippi, Donald Trump mocked Brett Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford.
Less than a week after calling Ford a “credible witness”, Trump impersonated her on stage to laughs from a jeering crowd.
“‘I don’t know. I don’t know.’ ‘Upstairs? Downstairs? Where was it?’ ‘I don’t know.'”, Trump sneered.
And he wasn’t done.
“But I had one beer. That’s the only thing I remember.'”, the President continued. Here’s the clip from the characteristically raucous event in Southaven:
To say that’s a mischaracterization of Ford’s testimony would be an understatement. For instance, she described the home in great detail, including the narrowness of the stairwell and the layout of the second floor.
But that’s really beside the point. The idea that a U.S. President would mock someone who says she was the victim of sexual assault is beyond the pale and the fact that it comes from a man who is himself the subject of multiple sexual misconduct allegations makes the situation even worse.
Trump’s comments in Mississippi came hours after he told reporters on the White House lawn that it’s a “scary time” for young men in America. Young males, the President claims, are now likely to be stripped of due process. The presumption of innocence, Trump swears, is a thing of the past. Never forget that in 1989, Trump paid $85,000 for a full-page ad calling for the execution of five teens who were falsely accused of rape. They were ultimately exonerated and Trump, far from apologizing, still contends they were guilty.
One of Ford’s lawyers, Michael Bromwich, described Trump’s comments in Mississippi as “vicious, vile and soulless.” “Is it any wonder that she was terrified to come forward, and that other sexual assault survivors are as well?”, he went on to ask.
A vicious, vile and soulless attack on Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Is it any wonder that she was terrified to come forward, and that other sexual assault survivors are as well? She is a remarkable profile in courage. He is a profile in cowardice. https://t.co/UJ0bGxV1EZ
— Michael R. Bromwich (@mrbromwich) October 3, 2018
Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell had the nerve to say, on Wednesday morning, that Republicans “will not be intimidated by Kavanaugh protesters.”
Because it’s definitely the protesters that are trying to bully and “intimidate” in this situation, right?
It’s definitely not the President of the United States, who is now bringing the power of the presidential bully pulpit to bear on women who claim they were sexually assaulted.
