The senator denounced Trump for mocking a woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers.
Jeff Flake denounced President Trump Wednesday for mocking a woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers, calling the commander-in-chief’s comments “not right” and “kind of appalling.”
Trump targeted Christine Blasey Ford a day earlier during a speech in Mississippi, repeatedly mocking her for not remembering details about the night she says the attack took place and what he described as holes in her account.
Flake told NBC’s “Today” show that making fun of “something this sensitive at a political rally is just not right.” Flake added, “I wish he hadn’t done it. It’s kind of appalling.”
Photos from the event:
The Arizona Republican, who is retiring from the Senate at the end of his term, bucked his party last week by joining Democrats in calling for an FBI investigation into mounting sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanugh.
Trump allowed the bureau to open a limited week-long probe, but has repeatedly defended his Supreme Court pick and increasingly railed against Kavanaugh’s accusers.
Trump on Tuesday openly mocked Ford.
“I had one beer!” he said, repeating Ford’s claim in her testimony about the night in 1982 when she claims a drunken Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, covered her mouth to stifle her screams and tried to undress her at a Maryland house party.
“How did you get home?” the President asked, reenacting Ford’s time before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday.
“ ‘I don’t know. I don’t know.’ ‘Upstairs? Downstairs? Where was it?’ ‘I don’t know. But I had one beer. That’s the only thing I remember,’ ” Trump said as he impersonated Ford.
He continued the charade — to the delight of his audience — by asking several questions and repeatedly answering himself with “I don’t remember” and “I don’t know.”
Flake and two other moderate Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins (Me.) and Lisa Murkowski (Ak.), have not said how they will vote when Kavanaugh’s confirmation goes before the full Senate.
Several red state Democrats have also declined to say if they will oppose Trump’s pick, leaving Kavanaugh’s fate up in the air as the FBI wraps up its brief investigation.
