On Fox News, Ford Testimony Seen as ‘Disaster’ for GOP

(Bloomberg) -- The reviews are coming in for Christine Blasey Ford’s Senate testimony on Donald Trump’s favorite network, Fox News -- and they aren’t good for the Republican Party.

Fox News panelists discussing Ford’s testimony during a break in the Senate hearing called her credible, and one -- anchor Chris Wallace -- said her recounting of an alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was “a disaster” for the GOP. Kavanaugh denies the allegations.

“I think Dr. Ford is exceptionally credible,” Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano said. The sex-crimes prosecutor Judiciary Committee Republicans hired to question Ford, Rachel Mitchell, has been hampered by the format of the hearing, he said, which requires Mitchell to ask questions in five-minute blocks and alternate with Democratic senators.

“This was extremely emotional, extremely raw, and extremely credible,” Wallace added.

Anchor Bret Baier added that hearing from Ford directly “is a totally different thing” than merely reading her prepared testimony.

Trump watched the hearing aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from the United Nations General Assembly, according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She didn’t say what channel he was watching, but Trump’s made no secret of his preference for Fox. She also said Trump hasn’t spoken with Kavanaugh in several days.

While the president hasn’t tweeted or otherwise publicly remarked on Ford’s remarks, his son Donald Trump Jr. mocked what Ford said is a fear of flying, a point Mitchell probed in her questioning.

Trump Jr. also retweeted several conservatives who questioned or ridiculed Ford’s testimony.

But Laura Ingraham, a conservative television and radio host, said on Twitter: “Most anchors are saying the accuser is very ‘credible.’ Your thoughts?”

And Ben Shapiro, another conservative personality who contributes to Fox News, noted Ford’s testimony that Kavanaugh’s laughter during the alleged assault is what she remembers best, “indelible in the hippocampus.”

“So that’s brutal for Kavanaugh, obviously,” Shapiro said on Twitter.

Before Ford’s testimony, three Republican governors -- Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, John Kasich of Ohio and Larry Hogan of Maryland -- called for the Senate Judiciary Committee to conduct a more thorough investigation of the accusations against Kavanaugh.

“The accusations brought against Judge Kavanaugh are sickening and deserve an independent investigation. There should be no vote in the Senate,” Baker said on Twitter.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shannon Pettypiece in Washington at spettypiece@bloomberg.net;Toluse Olorunnipa in Washington at tolorunnipa@bloomberg.net;Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at rruitenberg@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum

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