10/5/2018

BRETT KAVANAUGH/PROTESTS/SUPREME SOURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump lashed out Friday [10-5-18] at female protesters who have confronted senators over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, labeling them ‘rude elevator screamers’ and ‘paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad.’ Trump’s tweet Friday came before a crucial Senate vote on Kavanaugh, who stands accused of a high school-era sexual assault. Amid a national reckoning around gender roles and sexual consent, protesters have flooded the capitol in recent days, with many women angrily addressing senators, some identifying themselves as sexual assault victims. The president struck a more upbeat note after the Senate pushed Kavanaugh past a key procedural hurdle, saying on Twitter that he was ‘very proud.’ As the Kavanaugh nomination has dragged out, protests — and direct lobbying — have grown. An emotional exchange last week between Republican Sen. Jeff Flake and two women quickly went viral and appeared to contribute to Flake’s demand that a vote be delayed by a week for an FBI background investigation. On Thursday [10-4-18] several women approached Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah near capitol elevators to ask why he was backing Kavanaugh. Hatch told them to ‘grow up.'”

The Associated Press, “Trump Lashes Out at Capitol Hill Protesters,” The New York Times online, October 5, 2018