Brett Kavanaugh’s Fox Friends ignored the evidence of his dishonesty and misogynistic behavior and all but declared the Supreme Court nominee had proved himself innocent during his Republican Rehab session disguised as a Fox News interview last night.
As I have previously posted, interviewer Martha MacCallum let Kavanaugh dodge her question about whether there should be an FBI investigation into the mounting evidence that he committed sexual assault. MacCallum also all but declared Kavanaugh’s innocence by deceptively claiming that “no one has corroborated” the account of accuser Christine Blasey Ford.
As Media Matters noted, MacCallum let Kavanaugh slide when he said, “I did not have sexual intercourse or anything close to sexual intercourse in high school or for many years thereafter.” Instead of pointing out that the two public accusations against him do not accuse him of having sexual intercourse, MacCallum said, supportively (and misleadingly), “So you’re saying that through all these years that are in question, you were a virgin?”
Today, Fox & Friends guest cohost Anna Kooiman amplified that misleading talking point.
KOOIMAN: He also said that he doesn’t doubt that maybe Dr. Ford did go through something from someone at some point in time, but that it wasn’t him. And that he certainly never in his life sexually assaulted anyone, and he says he never even had sex with anyone until years after high school. That was one of the big takeaways I think people were talking about, too. He was willing to open up and talk about something so personal like that. He said he was never involved with a woman that way at all.
That comment might do wonders for Kooiman’s standing on Fox. Her three-day guest hosting gig on her old show suggests she may be looking to return permanently. But for viewers, Kooiman's remarks were specious. Despite the squeaky clean image Kavanaugh tried to project to Fox News viewers last night (“I went to an all-boys Catholic high school where I was focused on academics and athletics, going to church every Sunday … working on my service projects and friendship”), the written evidence depicts a guy with just the kind of history of partying, drinking and disrespect to women that fits in with Ford’s accusations.
You probably won’t be shocked to know that none of that came up during Fox & Friends' rhapsody over the Kavanaugh interview this morning. Instead, cohost Steve Doocy validated Kooiman’s “analysis” by saying, “That’s right.”
Cohost Brian Kilmeade took it a step further and falsely suggested that Kavanaugh had proved his innocence during the interview.
KILMEADE: So, you’ve got to straddle that line if you’re Judge Kavanaugh. You might be outraged, but you can’t show it. You can’t diminish a woman who you say you haven’t met that she says she went through something horrific as a tenth grader. Now she is in her 50’s. But, at the same time, you’ve got to let everybody know, “I wasn’t there. Never met her. Don’t know what she’s referring to. Here’s my schedule of what I was doing in 1982, and that was trying to get into an Ivy League school, playing two sports. And here is what I was actually doing. I don’t even remember going to that party.” So, it’s a very tough line.
Watch Fox & Friends find nothing not to love about Kavanaugh’s interview below, from the September 25, 2018 Fox & Friends, via Media Matters.