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| Key Republicans condemn Trump's mockery of Christine Blasey Ford | Key Republicans condemn Trump's mockery of Christine Blasey Ford |
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| Donald Trump has been sharply condemned for mocking Dr Christine Blasey Ford – the woman who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault – with two key Republicans who could determine if the federal judge is confirmed to the US supreme court calling the comments “appalling” and “just plain wrong”. | Donald Trump has been sharply condemned for mocking Dr Christine Blasey Ford – the woman who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault – with two key Republicans who could determine if the federal judge is confirmed to the US supreme court calling the comments “appalling” and “just plain wrong”. |
| Addressing a campaign rally in Mississippi on Tuesday night, Trump cast doubt on Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh, his nominee for the US supreme court, attempted to rape her when the two were teenagers in the early 1980s. | Addressing a campaign rally in Mississippi on Tuesday night, Trump cast doubt on Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh, his nominee for the US supreme court, attempted to rape her when the two were teenagers in the early 1980s. |
| As supporters cheered him on, the president ridiculed Ford’s emotional testimony before the Senate judiciary committee last week, where she conceded she could not remember certain details but vividly recounted the alleged assault by Kavanaugh. | As supporters cheered him on, the president ridiculed Ford’s emotional testimony before the Senate judiciary committee last week, where she conceded she could not remember certain details but vividly recounted the alleged assault by Kavanaugh. |
| “I wish he hadn’t of done it and I just say it’s kind of appalling,” Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, said in an interview with NBC on Wednesday. | “I wish he hadn’t of done it and I just say it’s kind of appalling,” Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, said in an interview with NBC on Wednesday. |
| “There is no time and no place for remarks like that, but to discuss something this sensitive at a political rally is just not right.” | “There is no time and no place for remarks like that, but to discuss something this sensitive at a political rally is just not right.” |
| And Republican swing vote Susan Collins of Maine also rebuked Trump, telling reporters on Capitol Hill: “The president’s comments were just plain wrong.” | |
| Even Lindsey Graham, a Republican of South Carolina and one of Trump and Kavanaugh’s most vociferous fans – who dramatically snatched control of the questioning during last week’s hearing from Republican-appointed prosecutor Rachel Mitchell – said on Wednesday: “I do not like what the president said last night.” | |
| Flake is one of a handful of moderate Republicans in the Senate whose votes could seal Kavanaugh’s fate. Last week, an FBI investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh was opened after Flake signalled he would not vote to confirm the federal judge to America’s highest court without further inquiry. | Flake is one of a handful of moderate Republicans in the Senate whose votes could seal Kavanaugh’s fate. Last week, an FBI investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh was opened after Flake signalled he would not vote to confirm the federal judge to America’s highest court without further inquiry. |
| Even some of Trump’s traditional media allies were critical of his move, suggesting it could undermine Kavanaugh’s prospects at a time when Republicans are looking to press forward with a vote on his nomination. | |
| “The tactic of the president laying low has been lauded by all sides,” said Brian Kilmeade, a host of Trump’s preferred morning show Fox & Friends. “Last night he chose to blow it, as the FBI is handing in the report as early as today.” | |
| “I wonder about the wisdom, as much as the crowd loved it, I wonder about the wisdom tactically of him doing that.” | “I wonder about the wisdom, as much as the crowd loved it, I wonder about the wisdom tactically of him doing that.” |
| But senior administration counsel Kellyanne Conway defended Trump on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters at the White House, she said he was merely pointing out “factual inaccuracies” in the professor’s account. | |
| In defense of robust challenges, she added that Ford has “been treated like a Fabergé egg by all of us, beginning with me and the president.” | |
| Conway argued that “those who pretend they are searching for truth are already voting against him” and said Democratic senators running for re-election in states Trump carried in 2016 should know that their voters “want him to be confirmed”. | |
| Trump had initially dubbed Ford a “very credible witness” even as he forcefully defended Kavanaugh against allegations of sexual misconduct, which have also been levied by two other women. Kavanaugh has denied all the allegations. | |
| But at his rally on Tuesday, the president dismissively imitated Ford’s testimony. | |
| “How did you get home?” Trump said, reiterating a question Ford was asked by the committee. “I don’t remember,” he then parroted. | “How did you get home?” Trump said, reiterating a question Ford was asked by the committee. “I don’t remember,” he then parroted. |
| “How did you get there? ‘I don’t remember.’ Where is the place? ‘I don’t remember.’ How many years ago was it? ‘I don’t know.’ What neighborhood was it? ‘I don’t know.’ Where’s the house? ‘I don’t know.’” | “How did you get there? ‘I don’t remember.’ Where is the place? ‘I don’t remember.’ How many years ago was it? ‘I don’t know.’ What neighborhood was it? ‘I don’t know.’ Where’s the house? ‘I don’t know.’” |
| Appearing before the committee last week, Ford, a research psychologist in northern California, drew on her own expertise to explain how the brain processed traumatic memories. | Appearing before the committee last week, Ford, a research psychologist in northern California, drew on her own expertise to explain how the brain processed traumatic memories. |
| “It’s just basic memory functions, and also just the level of norepinephrine and epinephrine in the brain that ... encodes memories into the hippocampus so that trauma-related experience is locked there [while] other memories just drift,” Ford said. | “It’s just basic memory functions, and also just the level of norepinephrine and epinephrine in the brain that ... encodes memories into the hippocampus so that trauma-related experience is locked there [while] other memories just drift,” Ford said. |
| One of Ford’s attorneys, Michael Bromwich, condemned Trump’s remarks on Twitter, writing: “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.” | One of Ford’s attorneys, Michael Bromwich, condemned Trump’s remarks on Twitter, writing: “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.” |
| 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 | 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 |
| Democrat Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, called on Trump to apologize. | |
| Last week, the Senate judiciary committee voted along party lines to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination for the consideration of the full chamber. | Last week, the Senate judiciary committee voted along party lines to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination for the consideration of the full chamber. |
| But Republican moderates such as Flake, Collins and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have said their vote will be determined by the outcome of the week-long FBI investigation. Two red state Democrats senators up for re-election in November, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, have also yet to take a position on Kavanaugh. | But Republican moderates such as Flake, Collins and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have said their vote will be determined by the outcome of the week-long FBI investigation. Two red state Democrats senators up for re-election in November, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, have also yet to take a position on Kavanaugh. |
| Flake said Wednesday he did not wish to “prejudge” the work of federal investigators. But he said the nomination would be over if it was revealed Kavanaugh had lied to the committee in his testimony. | Flake said Wednesday he did not wish to “prejudge” the work of federal investigators. But he said the nomination would be over if it was revealed Kavanaugh had lied to the committee in his testimony. |
| “If there are demonstrable lies … and if he misled the committee in that way, then that’s something that is not right and shouldn’t happen,” he said. “But we’ll have to look at what the FBI comes back with.” | “If there are demonstrable lies … and if he misled the committee in that way, then that’s something that is not right and shouldn’t happen,” he said. “But we’ll have to look at what the FBI comes back with.” |
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