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Trump says he mocked Christine Blasey Ford at a rally to 'even the playing field' for Kavanaugh

Oct 7, 2018, 17:53 IST

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In this Oct. 2, 2018 photo, President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks at a rally in Southaven, Miss.Associated Press/Rogelio V. Solis

  • President Donald Trump told Fox News' Jeanine Pirro on Saturday that he mocked Christine Blasey Ford to "even the playing field" for then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
  • During a rally in Mississippi last week, Trump had mimicked Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which she told lawmakers there were details of the alleged sexual assault she couldn't remember.
  • Kavanaugh, who denied Ford's allegations, was confirmed by the US Senate on Saturday and was sworn in to the Supreme Court.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he mocked Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, to "even the playing field."

Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News' Jeanine Pirro, who noted that Trump had largely avoided criticizing Ford in public until he let loose at a Mississippi campaign rally last week.

"Some people said you were extremely unkind to Christine Ford. But what was it that got you to pivot from your restraint about her, and to fight for Kavanaugh at that point?" Pirro asked.

Trump responded that he believed Kavanaugh had been in "a very unfair situation," and that his decision to criticize Ford's testimony caused Kavanaugh's nomination to "sail through."

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"Well, there were a lot of things happening that weren't correct, they weren't true, and there were a lot of things that were left unsaid," Trump told Pirro. "I thought I had to even the playing field, because it was very unfair to the judge."

Trump had been widely denounced - even among some conservatives - for his public disparagement of Ford.

Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.AP

In front of the Mississippi audience, Trump had mimicked Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, including the moment where she explained that there were certain details of the alleged sexual assault she couldn't remember.

"How did you get home? I don't remember. How'd you get there? I don't remember. Where is the place? I don't remember," Trump said, as the audience laughed and cheered. "I don't know. I don't know. What neighborhood was it? 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."

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The White House has denied that Trump was mocking Ford - press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters last week that Trump was merely "stating the facts."

Kavanaugh, who denied Ford's allegations, was confirmed by the Senate on Saturday with a razor-thin 50-48 vote. He was sworn in as the country's 114th Supreme Court justice later that evening.

Watch Trump's Mississippi remarks below:

 

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