MANHATTAN (CN) – In his first solo press conference since February 2017, President Donald Trump addressed allegations of sexual and physical assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by recalling his own experiences with similar allegations, blaming Democrats for what he called a “big fat con job” and warning men that we live in a “very dangerous period in our country.”
While he confirmed he would pull Kavanaugh’s nomination if he thought he was guilty, Trump also said he wants Kavanaugh’s first accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, to have her hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday before he makes any decisions.
In 80 minutes of his trademark ricochet style Wednesday evening, Trump also claimed the United States would be at war with North Korea had he not been elected, said he watches PBS, announced health care is “probably [a] tougher” deal than negotiating peace between Israel and Palestine, and seemed to accuse George Washington of sexual assault.
“He may have had some – I think, accusations made? Didn't he have a couple of things in his past?” Trump asked reporters. “George Washington would be voted against, 100 percent, by [Chuck] Schumer and the con artists."
Kavanaugh
Most questions at the conference were about the Kavanaugh situation, which drew annoyed sighs and mutters from reporters in town to cover this week’s United Nations General Assembly. As of press time Wednesday evening, physical and sexual assault allegations from five women against Kavanaugh have come to light. Kavanaugh denies all of them.
“The people who have complained to me about it the most about what’s happened are women,” Trump told the 200-plus reporters assembled at the Lotte New York Palace hotel in midtown Manhattan.
“Women are so angry.”
The president has given about two dozen joint press conferences with other world leaders during his tenure. But the last time he spoke formally with the media one-on-one, just the president and the press, was about a year and a half ago.
To kick off Wednesday’s presser, Trump delivered about five minutes’ worth of prepared remarks, mostly regarding the General Assembly. After that, Trump opened the field to questions on any topic.
Prepared remarks, interest rate and more
In his prepared opening remarks, Trump touted the beginning of trade talks with Japan, a “very good” relationship with Mexico and a “tremendous [trade] deal” with South Korea. He expressed displeasure at the Federal Reserve Bank’s move today to raise interest rates, but offered himself a conciliatory pat on the back.
“They’re raising ‘em because we’re doing so well,” Trump said. “We’re doing much better than I had projected. We’re doing much better than anybody ever thought possible.”
Seeming to relish the attention from the over 200 reporters in the room, Trump launched early into an exhibition of his infamous freewheeling chatter. He spoke at one point in the third person about the size of his brain – “very, very large” – and later added, “They’re doing studies on Donald Trump; they’re trying to figure it all out.”
UN General Assembly
