At a rally in Mississippi on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump showed more concern for the men who may be falsely accused of sexual assault than their potential victims.
“Think of your sons. Think of your husbands,” Trump said to the crowd, defending Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh against the sexual-misconduct allegations that have delayed his confirmation vote. The allegations—which include an attempted assault, an unwanted exposure, and a drugging and gang rape—are currently being reviewed by the FBI. Kavanaugh has denied all of them.
“A man’s life is in tatters. A man’s life is shattered. His wife is shattered,” Trump said while talking about how the Kavanaugh allegations. “They want to destroy people. These are really evil people.”
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Trump also called his nominee a “perfect human being” and said the allegations were “destroying his reputation.”
“They’ve been trying to destroy Judge Kavanaugh since the very first second he was announced because they know Judge Kavanaugh will follow the Constitution as written,” Trump said. He later added, “I don’t even know him. I met him for the first time a few weeks ago. It’s not like I want to protect my friend.”
The president then mocked the Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford, who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week about how Kavanaugh allegedly pinned her to a bed and tried to take off her clothes at a high school party.
“‘Thirty-six years ago this happened. I had one beer,’” Trump said, seemingly mimicking her testimony and questioning with senators. “How did you get home? ‘I don’t remember.’ How’d you get there? ‘I don’t remember.’ Where was the place? ‘I don’t remember.’ How many years ago was it? ‘I don’t know…’” The rally crowd erupted into laughter and cheers. Ford testified last week the part she remembered most vividly in her alleged assault was the “uproarious laughter” of Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge.
The president continued: “Upstairs, downstairs? Where was it? ‘I don’t know. But I had one beer. That’s the only thing I remember.’”
The mocking came in stark contrast to comment Trump made about Ford just last week, calling her a “very credible witness” and “a very fine woman” with a “very compelling” testimony.
Trump also launched into an extended hypothetical story, with him taking on the role of a man who had been falsely accused and calling for his mother.
“Mom, a terrible thing just happened, a person that I’ve never met said I did things that are terrible, and they’re firing me from my job, Mom. Mom, I don’t know what to do,” the president said. “Mom, what do I do? What do I do, Mom?”
The president then lambasted the media, saying the U.S. had the “worst libel laws anywhere in the world” and the press’ ability to publish stories without stronger libel laws was a “damn sad situation.”
“And we better start as a country getting smart and getting tough,” he said. “We shouldn’t let those cameras back there tell us how to live our lives.”
