Once again, Trump has seized the opportunity to call “fake news;” this time on the Kavanaugh sex scandal.
On Monday, while leaving the White House for an event Florida, the President claimed his loyalty to Kavanaugh, reporting to journalists that he is a “brilliant jurist, a man who did nothing wrong.”
He asserted that this scandal was simply “a hoax that was set up by the Democrats using the Democrats’ lawyers.” Further, Trump declared that this was an “insult to the American public” but that the public is intelligent enough not to fall for the Democrats’ ruses.
This typical strategy of denial and defamation of the opposition has been continuously used throughout this scandal by Trump and does not end with this one statement. His loyalty towards Kavanaugh is seen throughout several statements pertaining to the case.
At a rally in Mississippi, Trump criticised the #MeToo campaign by mocking Christine Blasey Ford, who came forward for being sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh, for not knowing the answers to several questions in her testimony. Instead, he conveyed his concern for men and how damaging such an accusation can be. Trump has told reporters: “It is a very scary time for young men in America, where you can be guilty of something you may not be guilty of.”
These types of statements are not new though; in the past, Trump has criticised and condemned those women who have spoken out about their experience of sexual assault, perhaps due to his own experiences concerning sexual misconduct. While false accusations should not be condoned, it appears that Trump is making it difficult for any woman to speak out about an already difficult and controversial topic. One begins to question what implications this will have for future cases of sexual misconduct.
Images obtained from:
ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/evil-people-blame-kavanaugh-controversy-…