President Trump on Friday attacked protesters demonstrating against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, asserting without evidence that they are “paid professionals.”
“The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad. Don’t fall for it!” he tweeted.
Trump claimed that billionaire liberal activist George Soros is among those funding the demonstrations against the judge, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.
{mosads}Trump’s message will likely fire up his conservative base ahead of a Friday morning procedural vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination, but it also comes as several key senators have yet to decide their vote amid an charged atmosphere in Washington.
Hundreds of protesters were taken into custody on Thursday after they descended on a pair of Senate office buildings to urge senators to vote against Kavanaugh.
Several women have also approached lawmakers to share their stories of surviving sexual assault, most notably two who confronted Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) in an elevator before the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Kavanaugh.
One of the women who confronted Flake, Ana Maria Archila, works for the Center for Popular Democracy, which is funded in part by Soros.
Flake later brokered an agreement to conduct an FBI investigation into the claims against Kavanaugh in exchange for his vote to help advance the judge through the Judiciary panel.
Trump believes the uproar over Kavanaugh’s nomination, spurred in large by Democrats, could help fire up GOP voters heading into the midterm elections. But some of his comments about the process have garnered bipartisan backlash, which could pose risks for the GOP in November.
The president’s decision to mock Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony, in which she detailed her alleged sexual assault at the hands of Kavanaugh, was widely condemned in D.C. Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied the allegations, but many people around Trump had advised him not to target Ford.
Trump also said this week the controversy surrounding Kavanaugh shows it is a “scary time for young men in America.”
Asked if he had a message for young women, Trump replied, “Women are doing great.”