Reprinted with permission from Shareblue.
After somehow refraining from saying anything terrible about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford for days on end, Trump let loose at a Tuesday night campaign rally with vicious mockery of Ford’s brave public testimony about being sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when they were both in high school.
It was so cruel, childish, and indefensible that even Fox News and die-hard Kavanaugh fans like Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) had to grudgingly admit Trump shouldn’t have gone there.
But somehow, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway thought it was a good idea the morning after this shameful performance to claim that actually, Trump and Republicans have treated Ford “like a Fabergé egg.”
“Was it appropriate for President Trump to openly mock the account of Christine Ford last night?” MSNBC reporter Peter Alexander asked Conway on Wednesday.
“I see that that is the lemming-like word you’re all using together, Peter,” Conway replied sarcastically, referring to the word “mock.”
“Well, he imitated her,” Alexander pointed out.
“Excuse me, excuse me. The woman has been accommodated by all of us, including the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Conway said. “She’s been treated like a Fabergé egg by all of us, beginning with me and the president.”
Comparing Ford to a famously rare and delicate luxury item like a Fabergé egg has some obvious, disgusting implications. Conway is suggesting that Republicans aren’t just being “accommodating” — they’re really being too accommodating, and Ford should be more grateful because they really don’t have to be so nice to her.
Trump, Conway added, was merely “pointing out factual inconsistencies” when he mocked Ford at the campaign rally.
Yes, “mocked.” There’s really no better or more accurate word for what Trump said about Ford — or “the woman,” as Conway dismissively referred to her — and how he said it.
“I had one beer!” Trump said Tuesday night, mimicking Ford. “How did you get home? I don’t remember. 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! I don’t know! I don’t know!”
At this, the rally crowd laughed and laughed.
It’s shocking enough that Conway, who just came out publicly as a survivor of sexual assault herself, could excuse this sickening display from Trump and his supporters.
But she also went to bat for every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee — who, by and large, have actually treated Ford terribly while only pretending to show her respect.
Talking to reporters after Ford’s moving, emotional testimony, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) flew into a rage, accused Ford of being part of an elaborate conspiracy against Kavanaugh, and suggested she was lying because she didn’t have to pay for her polygraph test.
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch declared that Ford was “mixed up” before even hearing her testimony — and on Tuesday, his office published a disgusting letter from a constituent that tried to discredit Kavanaugh’s third public accuser, Julie Swetnick, with nothing more than slut-shaming innuendo.
Not a single Republican on the Judiciary Committee was willing to ask Ford questions to her face, but they’ve all been willing to suggest to reporters that she may be either lying or confused.
That goes for Conway, too.
In the same interview where Conway disclosed her assault, she also cast doubt on Ford’s story — cynically claiming that Ford was “credible,” but that we don’t have to actually believe her because she “didn’t corroborate her testimony.”
Conway even sarcastically asked reporters on Wednesday whether they could “corroborate” Ford’s story.
But Ford actually has plenty of corroboration. Just for starters, she has therapists’ notes, testimony from people she talked to before Kavanaugh was nominated, two other women who have accused Kavanaugh of similar misconduct, and numerous witnesses who say Kavanaugh was a sloppy drunk in ways consistent with her description. Even Kavanaugh’s own high school calendar could potentially corroborate Ford’s story.
Ford is credible. Kavanaugh is not.
And all that Trump, Conway, and Republicans can do about that is try to smear and mock Ford and hope nobody notices what they’re doing.
Published with permission of The American Independent.
