In recent weeks, the US political sphere has been dominated by the news of multiple accusations being made against the past conduct of President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. There has been widespread anger directed at Kavanaugh across the United States with many saying that the allegations made against him are not being taken seriously enough and a credible FBI investigation into these accusations should take place.
The story so far
Last week, Dr Christine Blasey Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a High School party in 1982.
Since Dr Ford's allegations have been made public, other women have come forward, stating that Judge Kavanaugh was guilty of sexually harassing them too in the past. A Yale classmate of Brett Kavanaugh's, Deborah Ramirez, has claimed that he exposed his genitals to her during a drinking game while they were both students at the prestigious University.
Since these accusations have come to light, the Twitter hashtag #WhyIDidntReport has seen thousands of users pledge their support to Dr Ford and Ms Ramirez. While supporters of Judge Kavanaugh have slated Dr Ford's claims as having been made too long after the alleged incident took place, users on Twitter have shared their stories of why they did not report their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse at the time which it took place.
What Mr Trump has said about the issue
As Mr Trump's Supreme Court nominee, the US President has, in the past, been very complimentary about Judge Kavanaugh's character. However, after Dr Ford's impactful testimony in front of the Senate committee last week, he appeared to show support for her ordeal. Mr Trump called Dr Ford a 'very fine woman' at a press conference last week and labelled her presentation of the case under oath as 'very compelling'.
Yet, today at a Mississippi rally, Mr Trump launched into a full mockery of Ford's accusations and slated the credibility of her claims in front of a jeering crowd of his supporters. The President stated 'a man's life is in tatters' (in regards to the state of Judge Kavanaugh) and imitated her testimony in front of the Senate, repeating the phrase 'I don't know!
', in regards to Dr Ford's having forgotten some of the details of the attack.
Whilst experts on trauma have said that it is not unusual for survivors of trauma to remember some details very vividly and to blank-out others, Mr Trump has repeated the message he issued on Tuesday that it is a "very scary time for young men in America when you can be guilty of something that you may not guilty of', clearly referencing the controversy surrounding the Supreme Court nominee.
Senators are expected to vote on whether or not they wish to confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court some time this week, but Republicans in support of the Judge face a perilous task in getting his candidacy through due to their extremely slim two-person majority in the Senate.
