“Men of America, be afraid. This could happen to you.”
That's the alarm President Donald Trump and his GOP allies are increasingly sounding, as they try to defend their Supreme Court nominee from sexual assault allegations.
The three-decade-old accusation facing Brett Kavanaugh is not only false, they argue, but an example of the #MeToo movement gone too far in its call to believe the women — and not the men. It's a message that looks to channel the frustration and anxieties of the party's bedrock voters — white men — just weeks before an election.
Referring to the controversy, President Trump in a public speech on Tuesday, 2 October, said:
This is a scary time. It’s a very scary time for young men in America, when you can be guilty of something that you may not be guilty of. You can be somebody that was perfect your entire life and somebody could accuse you of something and you’re automatically guilty.
At a campaign rally later in Mississippi, Trump pretended to be a son asking his mother how to respond to such an accusation. "It’s a damn sad situation," Trump said.
Trump also mocked one of Kavanaugh's accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, for her Senate testimony last week.
He imitated Ford responding "I don't know" and "I don't remember" to questions about her claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than 30 years ago.
"And a man's life is in tatters," Trump said.
Trump’s Allies Echo His ‘Fear for Young Men’
Trump’s comments came as Republicans stare down a challenging midterm election and need to motivate their most reliable voters.
Kavanaugh's confirmation battle and the national soul-searching over sexual consent it has provoked, threaten only to further motivate liberal female voters, leaving Republicans searching for a counterweight.
In his warning, Trump echoed some of his allies. Rep. Steve King of Iowa said: "If Kavanaugh is not confirmed, every man is subject to seeing their life's work and their reputation destroyed by an unsubstantiated allegation."
Adding to this, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said:
This is no country for creepy old men. Or young men. Or middle-aged men. But this is no country at all.
And Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., told the Daily Mail this week:
"I've got boys, and I've got girls. And when I see what's going on right now, it's scary," adding that right now he fears more for his sons.
The rising frustration came as the Kavanaugh confirmation process played out before the country, with Kavanaugh and Ford appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week to discuss her accusation.
Kavanaugh's confirmation continues to hang in the balance as the FBI investigates the allegation, which Kavanaugh has forcefully denied.
(This article has been published in an arrangement with The Associated Press.)
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