A White House spokesperson twisted himself into knots Tuesday in an attempt to say that the President believes Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s denials of sexual improprieties — without saying that Trump thinks the women accusing Kavanaugh are liars.
“The President believes both of these women are lying because no one else will corroborate their stories,” MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson told White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah. “Is that accurate?”
“You’re using the word ‘lying,’” Shah responded. “What we’re saying is that we believe Judge Kavanaugh.”
“He told the country last night, very clearly: He’s never sexually assaulted anyone.”
Jackson pressed: “Both of those can’t be correct, though, you acknowledge, right? You can’t both believe Judge Kavanaugh and also believe that these women are not lying. So, to be clear, the President does not believe Dr. Ford and Deborah Ramirez are telling the truth?”
“Hallie, I wouldn’t put words in his mouth,” Shah said, before referencing the President’s tweet hours earlier, leaving out the part where Trump called the accusations “False.”
WH spox Raj Shah: You’re using the word ‘lying.' What we’re saying is that we believe Judge Kavanaugh.” pic.twitter.com/rsPkjXtbjj
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) September 25, 2018
