Sen. Jeff Flake cracked a joke Saturday about the viral moment we was confronted by sexual assault survivors on an elevator last week over his support for embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The Arizona Republican made the quip during an appearance at the Global Citizen Festival with Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., in New York City’s Central Park.
“Thanks to all of you global citizens who have contacted us this year, you have texted, you have called, you have touched our hearts. Keep calling,” Coons said on the MSNBC-televided event. “There are people’s voices we need to hear from around the world and here in our own country. So keep reaching out because we hear you and we need to keep hearing from you.”
“So feel free to join me in an elevator anytime,” Flake said afterwards.
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WATCH: Sen. Flake encourages voters to “keep calling” their elected officials at #GlobalCitizen Festival:
“Feel free to join me in an elevator any time,” Sen. Flake says after being confronted by a sexual assault survivor in an elevator Friday before the vote on Judge Kavanaugh. pic.twitter.com/PYfkaksZgE
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 29, 2018
Flake was a referring to a moment Friday when protesters in the Dirksen Senate Office Building descended on the Arizona senator to express their displeasure after he announced he would vote to confirm Kavanaugh past the Judiciary Committee. One of the anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators claimed she is the victim of sexual abuse.
“Don’t look away from me!” 39-year-old Ana Maria Archila said during the confrontation caught on video. “Look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me, that you will let people like that go into the highest court of the land.”
The nominee was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in the afternoon Friday, but the process hit a snag after Flake called for no more than a weeklong delay so that the FBI could investigate the allegations. This came a day after one of Kavanaugh’s accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, appeared before the panel to testify about her allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a high school party in the early 1980s. Kavanaugh appeared before the committee afterward, vociferously denying Ford’s allegation and the accusations of other women.
Flake was joined by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; in calling for a supplemental FBI background check, after which President Trump ordered a limited FBI probe in the allegations Kavanaugh faces.
During an MSNBC interview at the Global Citizen Festival, Coons dubbed Flake a “hero” for helping to force the pause in the confirmation process.
