White House aides and congressional allies worked all week to keep President Donald Trump from unloading on the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. Shortly before Trump’s tweet, White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway told reporters at the White House there was “no reason” to attack Ford. It was just that sort of Twitter-driven ire that congressional Republicans and White House aides guiding the Kavanaugh confirmation had hoped to avoid. Beyond those early conversations, congressional Republicans left it up to the White House to explain the stakes to the president. His fairly tame response — allowing that there might be a need for a brief delay on the committee vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination — had some White House aides believing they had gotten through.

Source: National Post September 22, 2018 07:05 UTC