September 26, 2018

Donald Trump Gave a Rambling, Marathon Press Conference. It Was Not Good.

“This is Alex Jones level stuff from the President right now.”

In a bizarre and rare press conference Wednesday, President Donald Trump defended embattled Judge Brett Kavanaugh ahead of a high-profile hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Christine Blasey Ford, one of three women who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, will testify Thursday about an instance in high school when Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted her. 

During the wide-ranging press conference, Trump called the Democrats “obstructionists” and claimed they had “destroyed a man’s reputation.”

“It’s not going to change the Democrats’ minds,” he said. “They know it’s a big, fat con job. They go into a room and I guarantee you they laugh like hell at what they’ve pulled off.”

The focus briefly turned to Trump’s past. Since 2016, more than a dozen women have accused him of sexual misconduct, harassment, or assault—allegations Trump’s White House has dismissed in the past. “When you say, does it affect me in terms of my thinking with respect to Judge Kavanaugh? Absolutely. Because I’ve had it many times,” Trump said.

Trump also told reporters he could delay a meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein so it didn’t coincide with the Kavanagh hearing. “I don’t want to do anything that gets in the way,” he said.

When asked whether he thought the three accusers were liars, Trump replied he couldn’t say but called one of the accuser’s lawyers, Michael Avenatti, a “lowlife.” He went on to call Kavanaugh “one of the most respected people in Washington.” If Trump thought his nominee “was guilty of something like this,” he said, he would reconsider his choice.

He rejected the idea of meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and claimed America would be at war with North Korea had he not been elected. He accused China of interfering in US elections but refused to elaborate when asked for evidence: “I can’t tell you now.”

Trump also repeated a false claim that 52 percent of women voted for him in the 2016 election, a figure that only applies to white women. And he clarified that representatives at the UN weren’t laughing at him—hey were laughing with him.

The press conference was not received terribly well.

Watch the whole thing here, or scroll down for highlights—and lowlights.

Here’s that “con job” business…

And a small aside…

George Washington? What?

This claim came out of left field…

But what do you really think of Michael Avenatti, Mr. President?

Will he stay or will he go?

And who would laugh at a man with a very, very large brain?

Acknowledging the obvious…

O, Canada!

Come again?

The United Nations is a fun crowd!

This article has been updated.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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