The GOP Is Trying to Thread a Needle With Kavanaugh Accusations
*By Amanda Weston and Max Godnick*
President Trump appears to be "losing his patience" with the Brett Kavanaugh scandal, according to one White House correspondent.
The commander-in-chief's latest Twitter comments certainly seem to indicate as much.
"I have no doubt that if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents," Trump [tweeted on Friday morning](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1043126336473055235). "I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!"
He's referring to accusations from Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh, a Supreme Court nominee, sexually assaulted her during a party while the two were in high school.
Moments after Trump's tweet on Friday, CRTV correspondent Jon Miller told Cheddar that Trump is reflecting the sentiment of many Americans who "absolutely want to take these charges seriously, \[but are\] wondering why they weren't filed 36 years ago when this event happened."
Miller himself said he thinks the chronology is "suspicious."
Still, Trump and his administration may have reason to worry.
"I think \[Trump\] was concerned that there's going to be bad news next week that could take down the Kavanaugh nomination," said Daniel Lippman, co-author of the Politico Playbook, in a separate interview with Cheddar on Friday.
Trump [took to Twitter](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1043160312315146240) later on Friday to address the controversy.
"Senator Feinstein and the Democrats held the letter for months, only to release it with a bang after the hearings were OVER - done very purposefully to Obstruct & Resist & Delay," he said. "Let her testify, or not, and TAKE THE VOTE!"
Trump's tweets followed the news that Ford is open to testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, [but only if certain terms are met](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/us/politics/brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey.html). Her lawyers said testifying Monday (the original date for testimony) was not possible, igniting a debate about when, if at all, a deadline ought to be set.
For Miller, the sooner Ford testifies, the better.
"I think that the Senate should hold the hearing Monday, and if she doesn't show up, they confirm him," Miller said.
Lippman disagreed.
"It would look very bad for Republicans to say, 'Well, if she won't come on Monday, we're not going to let her come \[later on\],'" he said.
NBC News and The Wall Street Journal [released poll results](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/poll-opposition-kavanaugh-s-confirmation-grows-n911581) this week claiming that more Americans now oppose Kavanaugh's confirmation than support it. It's the first time in the poll's history that a majority of Americans have opposed a Supreme Court nominee.
Lippman said the "constant drumbeat of bad news about Kavanaugh" is the main reason why most Americans have deemed the judge unfit for office.
"You want a Supreme Court justice to be the arbiter of fairness and good behavior and good morality," he said. "Most judges and lawyers, they don't act like \[Kavanaugh\] allegedly did when they were 17."
But the drumbeat aside, Miller believes the GOP still has the advantage.
"I think Republicans have the leg up simply because they have the numbers, given no one deflects," Miller said. "But I do think that in terms of public opinion ... that the numbers in support of Kavanaugh are going down. Unfortunately what the American people think about Kavanaugh doesn't exactly matter, here. The ball is in the Senate's court."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/trump-changes-his-tone-on-kavanaugh-accuser).
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