Michigan’s Republican Governor Rick Snyder broke with the White House and many prominent conservatives on Monday afternoon, effectively calling for an end to attacks on Christine Blasey Ford.
Ford was hesitantly thrust into the national spotlight after accusing controversial Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her at a party in high school in 1982.
Speaking at Western Michigan University for the Wolverine State’s fourth annual Campus Sexual Assault Summit, Snyder categorized the increasingly negative attacks on Ford as “not appropriate.”
A questioner asked, “What’s your response to all this hate that Dr. Ford is receiving for coming forward?”
To which Snyder replied:
That’s not appropriate. It’s great to see this dialogue happening–that people are coming forward–and that needs to be worked through. I do have some degree of concern about people viewing the current situation on the Supreme Court nominee, that’s not how things should normally operate, if you look at that whole forum.
The two-term governor continued, “So, I hope it doesn’t discourage or scare some people off–in terms of the whole environment. Again, we want people to speak out and be part of this process. So, it’s good that’s getting addressed, but it’s not your typical situation. And I hope it doesn’t create fear in people’s minds that want to come forward that they’re going to end up looking like the Supreme Court situation.”
On Monday, President Donald Trump weighed in again on the side of his increasingly–and historically–disliked Supreme Court nominee, categorizing the multiple accusations against Kavanaugh as politically motivated.
In between meetings at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in Manhattan, Trump said, “For people to come out of the woodwork from 36 years ago and 30 years ago and–never mentioned it, all of a sudden it happens–in my opinion, it’s totally political. It’s totally political. There’s a chance that this could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate for anything.”
In response to a later question concerning the President’s various comments casting doubt on Ford and her motives, Snyder was a bit less voluble in his criticism, simply saying, “I think it creates a challenge.”
Snyder’s comments critical of his own fellow travelers–and explicitly in line with the #MeToo movement–mark one of the most high-profile interventions by any member of the Republican Party in Ford’s defense so far.
[image via screengrab]
Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twitter: @colinkalmbacher
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