President Trump said Wednesday he’s open to changing his mind about his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, depending on the testimony he hears from Christine Blasey Ford at the Senate Judiciary Committee about her claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982.
At a press conference in New York, Trump said he plans on watching the scheduled Thursday hearing, and is open to reviewing his position depending on what is said.
“I’m going to see what’s said,” he said. “It’s possible that they will be convincing.”
Trump added that he could “always be convinced.”
Democrats have said Trump and his Republican allies need to withdraw Kavanaugh’s nomination, but Trump said it’s the Democrats who have made up their minds before hearing from Kavanaugh and the women accusing him of assault.
“I think when you really look at it all, it’s not going to change any of the Democrats’ minds,” Trump said. “They’re obstructionists. They’re actually con artists because they know how quality this man is, and they have destroyed this man’s reputation.”
When asked why the White House did not ask the FBI to re-open Kavanaugh’s background investigation after Ford came forward with her allegation against Kavanaugh, Trump reiterated that the FBI said they looked into Kavanaugh multiple times through his tenure working for the federal government.
“There was nothing to investigate from at least one standpoint,” Trump said. “They didn’t know the location. They didn’t know the time. They didn’t know the year. They didn’t know anything. And it’s like, where do you go?”
Ford said Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, groped her and tried to undress her during a party in Maryland in 1982.
Both she and Kavanaugh are set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, but Senate Democrats have been calling for the FBI to investigate Ford’s claim.
The president said he believes the allegations against Kavanaugh are part of Senate Democrats’ efforts to derail Kavanaugh’s nomination and said his opponents have tricked the media.
“They go into a room, and I guarantee you, they laugh like hell at what they pulled off on you and on the public,” he said of Democrats. “They laugh like hell. So, it wouldn’t have mattered if the FBI came back with a cleanest score.”
