JUDY WOODRUFF: President Trump
has triggered fresh cries of
foul today in the fight over
Supreme Court nominee
Brett Kavanaugh.
White House correspondent
Yamiche Alcindor
begins our coverage.
SEN.
SUSAN COLLINS (R), Maine:
The president's comments
were just plain wrong.
SEN.
JEFF FLAKE (R), Arizona: I
wish he hadn't have done it.
I just say it's --
it's kind of appalling.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: President
Trump mocking Brett Kavanaugh's
accuser, and key Republican
senators outraged.
DONALD TRUMP, President
of the United States: A
man's life is shattered.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Last night
in Southaven, Mississippi,
Mr. Trump went after Christine
Blasey Ford.
She said Kavanaugh sexually
assaulted her in high school.
The president made fun of Ford's
Senate testimony last week with
his own sometimes inaccurate
version of her memory lapses.
DONALD TRUMP, President
of the United States:
How did you get home?
I don't remember.
How did you get there?
I don't remember.
Where is the place?
I don't remember.
How many years ago was it?
I don't know.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
DONALD TRUMP: I don't know.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The
president had previously
called Ford a -- quote --
"very credible witness."
After last night, Ford's lawyer
tweeted that the president's
words were -- quote -- "vicious,
vile and soulless."
This morning, Senate
Democrats took up the cry.
SEN.
CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY),
Minority Leader: President
Trump's outright mockery
of a sexual assault
survivor, riddled as it was with
falsehoods, was reprehensible.
SEN.
KAMALA HARRIS (D), California:
I mean, it was outrageous.
There's no other
way to describe it.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The
attack played especially
poorly with undecided
Republican, like Alaska's
Lisa Murkowski.
She called the remarks --
quote -- "unacceptable."
But top presidential aides, like
White House counselor Kellyanne
Conway, defended Mr. Trump's
handling of Ford's story.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, Trump Senior
Adviser: She's been treated
like a Faberge egg by all of
us, beginning with
me and the president.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: And this
afternoon, Press Secretary
Sarah Sanders said this several
times:
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, White
House Press Secretary: The
president was stating the facts.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Meanwhile,
several public senators said
the FBI is almost done with
the reopened background
check of Kavanaugh.
That's despite complaints from
his accusers and Democrats that
a number of potential witnesses
have not been interviewed,
including Christine
Blasey Ford herself.
Democrats are demanding
that some version of the FBI
findings be made public before
the Senate votes on Kavanaugh.
Delaware Senator and Judiciary
Committee member Chris Coons:
SEN.
CHRIS COONS (D), Delaware: But
I do think a summary of the
report that doesn't identify
specific individuals or
allegations, but that
says, this is how many,
this is for our topics,
this is the sorts of facts we
have presented, I do think, in
the interest of transparency,
would be appropriate for
the FBI or the Senate to
release a report like that.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Louisiana
Republican and Senate Judiciary
Committee member John Kennedy
agreed.
SEN.
JOHN KENNEDY (R),
Louisiana: Normally, FBI
background investigations
are not made public
because of privacy rights of
the person being investigated.
But I think this is an
instance where it should be.
I trust the American people
to draw their own conclusions.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: As both sides
wait for the FBI's findings,
Capitol Police have stepped
up security for senators,
including police escorts.
MAN: You have to stay of
one side of the hallway.
And we have to make
sure doors are clear.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Today, police
forced reporters away from Susan
Collins' office for what they
said were safety reasons.
All the while, Senate debate on
the nomination is continuing.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell said again today
he's proceeding toward a vote.
SEN.
MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), Majority
Leader: It's time to put this
embarrassing spectacle behind
us.
The American people are sick of
the display that has been put
on here in the United States
Senate in the guise of
a confirmation process.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: As of tonight,
there's no firm indication
of whether Kavanaugh has the
votes to win Senate
confirmation.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And Yamiche
joins me now, along
with our congressional
correspondent, Lisa
Desjardins.
Hello to both of you.
So, Yamiche, as you point out
in that report, originally,
President Trump was respectful
of Dr. Ford.
He was saying she was a credible
-- someone who was credible,
but then the change of tone
last night.
He's mocking her.
What was behind
the thinking here?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, this
nomination has really become a
moment of cultural reckoning.
And President Trump is
responding to how polarized
everyone has become.
He senses this us-vs.-we
mentality, and he's
in there last night,
and he feels as though
he wants to really give the
crowd what they're asking for.
The crowd last night was
laughing and clapping
as he mocked Dr. Ford,
and that's just as
important as the
president mocking her.
And this idea that people are
really kind of -- especially
Republicans are really feeling
energized by this is
backed up by a new poll
that came out today.
"PBS NewsHour," NPR and
Marist put out a poll today.
And I want to walk you
through some of these numbers.
In July 2018, this summer,
Democrats had a 10-point lead
over Republicans when it came
to who thought was --
who thought the midterm
election was very important.
So you have this idea that
Democrats really felt as though
this is really important, but
that has all
basically evaporated.
The poll now shows that
82 percent of Democrats
describe the midterms
as very important and
80 percent of Republicans
also describe the midterms
as very important.
And Democrats, that
should be really bad
news for them, because
Democrats have been talking
about this blue wave,
talking about taking back
the House, even the Senate.
And now what you have
are Republicans saying,
this nomination is why
I might go to the polls.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So
energizing Republicans.
But you have been talking to
people at the White House.
How concerned are they
-- or are they concerned
that this could cost them
somehow in the midterms,
especially among women voters?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The
president let loose last night.
So the simple answer
is, no, they are not
concerned about this.
Sarah Sanders said that
the president was really
just stating the facts.
He's not worried about whether
or not Lisa Murkowski or Susan
Collins or Jeff Flake are
going to look at his comments
last night and say, you know
what, this has really gotten
out of hand and I can't
vote for Brett Kavanaugh.
So the president is really
just saying, you know what,
I'm going to go with my gut.
This isn't a large change
of strategy, from what I
can tell from sourcing.
It's really the president
looking at this crowd
and saying, I'm going
to give them what
they want.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, Lisa,
there's some late-day
developments on the
part of Senate Democrats
on the Judiciary Committee.
What are you hearing?
LISA DESJARDINS: A lot to talk
about tonight, but we just saw
a letter posted by Dick Durbin.
He's the number two
Democrat in the Senate.
And he's on the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
He posted a letter questioning
a tweet by Republicans in
which they said that the FBI
background checks to this point
on Mr. Kavanaugh have come up
with not a whiff of any issue
related to either
inappropriate sexual behavior
or with inappropriate
behavior with alcohol.
That's what the
Republicans tweeted out.
Dick Durbin has said,
we reviewed these files
confidentially, and
that is inaccurate.
What he's saying is, past
FBI background checks have
come up with something
related to inappropriate
behavior, either
sexual or alcoholic.
But, you know, Judy, this is
a classic just tit for tat,
and everyone using any kind of
weapon they can at this moment
as we wait for the FBI report.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, state of
play right now, Lisa, I mean,
if the FBI continues, doesn't
talk to Kavanaugh,
doesn't talk to Dr. Ford,
what does it look like?
LISA DESJARDINS: Well, I can
report I spoke just a short
while ago from a good Senate
Republican Judiciary source,
who said they have put no
limits on the FBI, the FBI is
free to talk to both Dr.
Ford and Judge Kavanaugh,
but it's the FBI choice.
It is possible the FBI will
just use the committee testimony
as the basis of its report.
So, they're saying it's
not any limits that
they have put on this.
But I think what Yamiche
said is very important.
I do not think Lisa
Murkowski and Susan Collins,
as much as they don't
like what the president
said last night, my sourcing
is, they're not going
to vote based on that.
So the president's not
really taking a risk
in ginning up his base.
I think that there are bigger
questions here about votes.
Democrat Joe Manchin came
out today and said he is
still firmly undecided.
Also, his office confirmed to
me Chuck Schumer is not really
putting pressure on him, maybe
because Chuck Schumer realizes
a Democratic presence on these
undecided votes really might
not help them at all.
And I think we're
seeing that most of all.
A quick -- another figure from
the poll, Judy, very quickly,
the partisan divide on this
question is unbelievable.
Do you support or oppose the
nomination of Brett Kavanaugh?
Look at that.
Republicans, 88 percent
support, but Democrats,
83 percent oppose.
That divide is just
getting larger.
JUDY WOODRUFF: It's hardening.
Yamiche, Bloomberg News is
reporting that the FBI says
the reason they're not talking
to Brett Kavanaugh, to Dr.
Ford is because the White
House has told them not to.
What is the White House
saying about that?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The White
House is pointing to the Senate
and saying that the ball is
in their court.
Sarah Sanders today from the
podium at the White House
said that the -- that they're
really taking and deferring all
their direction from the Senate.
The issue with that, of course,
is that the FBI is really
something that is really an
organization, an agency that
answers to the White House.
It's the White House who
can tell the FBI what
to do, not the Senate.
I talked to a lawyer,
a Republican lawyer
who has gone through
vetting judicial nominees
for Republicans in the past.
That lawyer told me that, in
normal times, the Senate would
request the FBI to make some
sort of an investigation or
some sort of supplemental
background check.
And the White House will just
pass off that information.
In this case there, that
really could not be the case.
In this case, we're not
really in normal times.
So it's not beyond doubt that
the White House could say, you
know, I want the FBI to only
look at this and look at that.
But this lawyer said that
it would be very unusual for
the White House or the Senate
to tell the FBI, do not
talk to these two people.
That person said, what is really
likely happening is that the FBI
is making a calculation, saying
if we have a week to do this,
and there are 40 people who
want to talk to us, here are
the people that we really
need to prioritize.
All that being said tonight,
Dr. Ford's lawyers came out with
a letter thing that they will
not -- that they want the FBI
basically to talk to their
client, and that they won't
give up her therapist notes or
her polygraph notes that she
took to Senator Grassley, as
he's requested, unless
the FBI talks to her.
So, really, her lawyers are
pushing for that interview.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Fascinating.
Fascinating.
Lisa, just very quickly here
at the end, you have been also
talking to Republicans about
their concerns, and as they
intersect with this poll.
LISA DESJARDINS: Yamiche
reported that the White
House may not be worried
about the midterms,
but congressional
Republicans are.
And here's why.
Let's look at something in
this poll about white women.
This is a critical
vote for Republicans.
Remember, a majority of white
women voted for President Trump.
Look at -- when asked,
do they oppose or support
for the nomination of
Brett Kavanaugh, look
at that split.
There you see white women, 45
percent oppose this nomination
vs. white men, 30 percent.
And I spoke to members of
Congress in the last day who
have said they're seeing that
gender split in their districts.
They're worried about what
that means in November.
Remember, women turn
out more than men at
the polls in midterms.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Huh.
Wow.
LISA DESJARDINS: Yes.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, we will
be watching that as we get
closer to these midterms.
Lisa Desjardins, Yamiche
Alcindor following this
Kavanaugh story, thank you both.