WHEELING, W.Va.—President Donald Trump continues to voice his support for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh at a rally in Wheeling, West Virginia, as he lambasted Democrats over their conduct during the recent confirmation hearings and urged his supporters to vote.
Speaking at the WesBanco Arena on Sept. 29, Trump touted the “booming” economy again as he strolled on the stage to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” He then quickly turned his attention to the Democratic Party.
He said the whole country has now seen the “shameless conduct” by the Democrats as the crowd booed loudly in response.
“They are willing to throw away every standard of decency, justice, fairness and due process to get their way. They don’t care how they get it. You see it happening before your eyes,” he said.
“And they’re determined to take back power by any means necessary. You see the meanness, the nastiness. They don’t care who they hurt, who they have to run over to get power.”
Trump defended Kavanaugh, calling him “one of the most accomplished legal minds of our time.” Republicans voted to advance the judge to a floor vote by the Senate on Sept. 28 before agreeing to delay the vote pending an FBI investigation into allegations by Christine Blasey Ford that is to take no more than one week.
“We see this horrible, horrible, radical group of Democrats. You see what’s happening right now,” he told the crowd of thousands.
The president also endorsed Republican Patrick Morrisey, the state’s attorney general, who is vying for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Morrissey will face Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin in the upcoming general election.
Manchin’s seat is believed to be one of the more vulnerable, since Trump won the state by 42 percentage points in 2016.
Trump called Manchin a “Washington liberal Joe” and said a vote for him is a vote for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). He has repeatedly called Waters the new face of the Democratic party.
Republicans have the majority in the Senate by a 51–49 count—they can only afford to lose one Republican vote to be able to confirm Kavanaugh without any defections by Democrats. Previously, Manchin had voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee.
“On Thursday, the American people saw the brilliant and really incredible character, quality, and courage of our nominee for the United States Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh,” Trump said.
Manchin had praised the decision by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) decision to call for the FBI investigation.
“I applaud Senator Jeff Flake’s decision to rise above the partisan circus on display during this entire process. ... The American people have been pulled apart by this entire spectacle and we need to take time to address these claims independently so that our country can have confidence in the outcome of this vote,” Manchin said in a statement.
During his speech that went a little over an hour, Trump urged his supporters to come out and vote for Republicans as a way to rebuff the “ruthless and outrageous tactics” the Democrats used against Kavanaugh.
He said if Democrats win the elections, the country will turn into a “big version” of Venezuela that would ”open our nation’s borders, starve our law enforcement officers.”
Trump also questioned whether Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) might have leaked the sexual-assault allegation from Christine Blasey Ford, after promising to preserve Ford’s anonymity. The president went on to mock Feinstein’s response at the committee hearing when she was asked whether she or her staff leaked Ford’s allegation against Kavanaugh.
At the Sept. 27 hearing, Feinstein said neither she nor her staff leaked the allegations by Ford. Trump said at the rally that “maybe” the leak didn’t come from Feinstein, but she had “the worst body language I’ve ever seen” when she was asked about it.
A recent poll found that 58 percent of voters in West Virginia want Kavanaugh confirmed to the Supreme Court, following his passionate testimony to the committee. The poll by Public Opinion Strategies and commissioned by the Judicial Crisis Network also found that 28 percent of voters oppose the judge’s nomination.
Morrissey, who is West Virginia’s first Republican attorney general since 1933, was elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. According to his website, he stands for “conservative principles.”
Morrissey grew up in a working-class family, paid his way through school, and supports the Second Amendment, advocates for tax cuts and supports building the wall, among other issues.
His opponent, Manchin, was sworn into the U.S. Senate on Nov. 15, 2010, after winning the election to complete the term of the late Sen. Robert Byrd. Manchin then won re-election in 2012. Manchin was born and raised in a small coal-mining town according to his website. He served 12 years in the state legislature, as secretary of state from 2000 to 2004, and as governor from 2004 to 2010.
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