After the New York Times clarified on Sunday evening that the woman at the center of the new allegation against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh doesn’t recall the incident, Trump, predictably, reveled in the publication’s revision of the story.
In a series of tweets quoting “Fox and Friends” and the show’s apparent guests on Monday morning, Trump argued that the “one who is actually being assaulted” is Kavanaugh.
“The New York Times walks back report on Kavanaugh assault claim.” @foxandfriends The one who is actually being assaulted is Justice Kavanaugh – Assaulted by lies and Fake News! This is all about the LameStream Media working with their partner, the Dems.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2019
“What’s happening to Justice Kavanaugh is a disgrace. This guy is not a good man, he is a great man. He has to go to his church with his family while these terrible reports are being written about him, a disgrace!” Dan Bongino @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2019
Just Out: “Kavanaugh accuser doesn’t recall incident.” @foxandfriends DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT THESE HORRIBLE PEOPLE WILL DO OR SAY. They are looking to destroy, and influence his opinions – but played the game badly. They should be sued!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2019
On Sunday evening, the New York Times added an editor’s note to a news analysis piece it published over the weekend outlining a new sexual misconduct allegation against the Supreme Court justice during his college years at Yale. The piece was written by Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly, who described an allegation about an incident at a Yale party in which Kavanaugh allegedly shoved his penis into a female classmate’s hand. The piece was part of a promotion for a forthcoming book called “The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation.”
The Times clarified that the segment of the story it published was adapted from the book and it had failed to include a disclaimer that’s outlined in the book — that the female student declined to be interviewed for the book and that her friends said she didn’t actually remember the incident.
Editors’ Note:
An earlier version of this article, which was adapted from a forthcoming book, did not include one element of the book’s account regarding an assertion by a Yale classmate that friends of Brett Kavanaugh pushed his penis into the hand of a female student at a drunken dorm party. The book reports that the female student declined to be interviewed and friends say that she does not recall the incident. That information has been added to the article.
The Times also apologized and deleted a tweet that it had posted alongside the book excerpt over the weekend which sparked confusion and outrage across Twitter.
We deleted a previous tweet regarding this article. It was offensive, and we apologize. https://t.co/gbUdweKbDg
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) September 15, 2019
What the hell is going on?
“Having a penis thrust in your face at a drunken form party mag seem like harmless fun.”
What?? pic.twitter.com/e5pGLgTNcC
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) September 14, 2019
The NYTimes does not peddle “fake” news, as Trump alleges. But of late they sure qualify as occasionally inept.
The reason Fat Nixon screamed like a banshee about it yesterday and is gloating about it today is precisely because Trump knows they blackmailed Kennedy into retirement (via Kennedy’s son’s dirty dealings with Deutsche Bank) in order to jam Kavanaugh onto SCOTUS. And the only reason Fat Nixon cares about SCOTUS is because–at some point deep in his lizard-brain stem, he knows that a corrupt SCOTUS is the only thing that can keep him out of jail, long run.
With Trump, THERE IS ALWAYS A TELL. Hiding in plain sight, usually.
Democracy Dies In Incompetencetm
And this is why I think the Democrats need to temper their reactions when things like this come up. It doesn’t negate the initial reporting, but it strips the initial impact. Jumping to a call for impeachment with teeth gnashing in a blink of an eye is not what we need.
Seems that the paper of record just might need to fire an editor and put someone in there who’s, I don’t know, a journalist?