Repeating a talking point favored by some conservatives in recent days, President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that Americans should be reflecting on what the numerous sexual assault allegations against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh mean for the safety of men—not women.
“It is a very scary time for young men in America, where you can be guilty of something you may not be guilty of,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “You could be somebody that was perfect your entire life and somebody could accuse you of something. That’s one of the very, very bad things that’s taking place right now.”
When a journalist asked, moments later, whether Trump had a message for American women, the president replied, “Women are doing great.”
Critics on social media condemned President for giving a national platform to a notion more commonly expressed among men’s rights activists than publicly on the White House lawn—and drew attention to the real fear of violence that women across the country face every day.
NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch expressed a similar view last Thursday as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford prepared to testify regarding her allegation that Kavanaugh assaulted her when they were in high school, telling “Fox and Friends” that Ford’s accusation made her fear for her sons. The president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., also said Monday that Ford’s testimony him fear for his sons more than his daughters.
While the president and other conservatives have suggested that countless young men will now be falsely accused of sexual assault due to the allegations against Kavanaugh, a 2012 study showed that only about two percent of rape accusations are found to be false.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT