O’Rourke hits Trump for mocking Ford testimony

Texas Senate candidate Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) hit the president for mocking the testimony of the woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault.

“Dr. Ford showed courage, power, and strength in her testimony,” O’Rourke tweeted Tuesday night. “She should be treated with dignity and respect — not demeaned and belittled by the President of the United States.”

Dr. Ford showed courage, power, and strength in her testimony. She should be treated with dignity and respect — not demeaned and belittled by the President of the United States.

— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) October 2, 2018

Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party in the summer of 1982.

{mosads}Kavanaugh has unequivocally denied the allegation, which remains uncorroborated, and provided his calendars from the period, which show no trace of the event.

President Trump during a rally in Mississippi on Tuesday night mockingly imitated the testimony Ford gave last Thursday regarding her allegation before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“How did you get home?” Trump said. ” ‘I don’t remember.’ How’d 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 in?” he continued, as the crowd cheered and clapped. ” ‘I don’t know.’ Where’s the house? ‘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.’ “

“Guilty until proven innocent, that’s very dangerous for our country,” Trump said. “A man’s life is in tatters … His wife is shattered.”

“They destroy people,” he added, likely referring to the Democrats who have vocally opposed Kavanaugh. “They want to destroy people. These are really evil people.”

WATCH: President Trump mocks Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Trump’s Supreme Court pick Judge Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, during rally in Mississippi. https://t.co/pZfWN8IFMV pic.twitter.com/81YEs8oXr5

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 2, 2018

The FBI are currently pursuing a weeklong investigation into the allegations of Kavanaugh’s sexual misconduct, all of which he has denied and remain uncorroborated.

Republicans have expressed confidence that Kavanaugh will be confirmed, even as they lament what they say is a political smear campaign by Democrats.

One of Kavanaugh’s most vocal defenders, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), said earlier Tuesday that he is confident Kavanaugh will be fine in terms of votes and expressed his hope that this will be “a turning point.”

“If this is not bottom, God help us all,” he added, saying that he does not think Kavanaugh will “ever be the same.”

O’Rourke has been running an unexpectedly competitive race against Sen. Ted Cruz (R). 

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election forecaster, rates the Texas Senate race as as “toss-up.”

A RealClearPolitics average of polls in the race shows Cruz with a 4.5 percentage point lead in the race.