Some Democrats and media figures said Thursday that Brett Kavanaugh's angry denial of a sexual assault accusation against him was strong evidence of his guilt.
Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, testified after Christine Blasey Ford said she was "100 percent" sure he groped her and stifled her yells with her hand in what she described as a traumatizing attack in the early 1980s.
Kavanugh has denied Ford's charge and two other public misconduct allegations, which have no corroborating evidence, and he attacked Senate Democrats in a dramatic statement Thursday for conducting a "search and destroy" process against him. He was also combative with some of the Democrats during their questioning of him.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D., Calif.) tweeted, "If Brett Kavanaugh can be this angry on national TV, imagine what he's like when he gets inebriated.#KavanaughHearings."
If Brett Kavanaugh can be this angry on national TV, imagine what he's like when he gets inebriated.#KavanaughHearings https://t.co/jqszfqb8Fq
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 27, 2018
Chris Peleo-Lazar, a staffer for Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), who is on the Judiciary Committee, tweeted during the testimony, "So we're seeing a bit of what happens when a woman says no to him."
So we're seeing a bit of what happens when a woman says no to him.
— The Vote Ain't No Joke Peleo-Lazar (@ChrisPeleoLazar) September 27, 2018
Former California Sen. Barbara Boxer (D.) said on MSNBC that Kavanaugh transformed "from a choir boy" in front of everyone's eyes, saying he showed "belligerent anger."
"All of the sudden, his anger was triggered, and what we saw today is someone who you could now see attacking a woman," she said. "It's very frightening."
Former Bill Clinton campaign strategist and commentator Paul Begala tweeted, "After that unhinged ragefest, it is hard for a fair-minded person to conclude that Kavanaugh is incapable of an angry, violent act."
After that unhinged ragefest, it is hard for a fair-minded person to conclude that Kavanaugh is incapable of an angry, violent act. https://t.co/e4OS5ec3Qu
— Paul Begala (@PaulBegala) September 28, 2018
He linked to a tweet from Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, a strong critic of Republicans and the Trump administration, who earlier wrote, "with him screaming and interrupting senators I could imagine him putting his hand over someone's mouth."
with him screaming and interrupting senators I could imagine him putting his hand over someone's mouth.
— Jennifer 'pro-voting' Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) September 28, 2018
Connecticut State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D.) tweeted, "If this is how Brett Kavanaugh behaves in front of the United States Senate and the American people, how does he behave in private when millions of eyes aren’t on him? It’s shocking. What his judicial temperament?"
If this is how Brett Kavanaugh behaves in front of the United States Senate and the American people, how does he behave in private when millions of eyes aren’t on him? It’s shocking. What his judicial temperament? #KavanaghHearing
— Bob Duff, Senate Majority Leader, CT (@senatorduff) September 27, 2018
MSNBC legal analyst Cynthia Alksne said after Kavanaugh's opening statement that it was a "temper tantrum" that gave a feeling for how he could be a "belligerent drunk."
"Well, I thought it was a temper tantrum," she said. "You have a feeling for what he's like when he is, as his roommate from Yale described him when he drank, that he could be an angry and belligerent drunk."
"He was angry and belligerent, and it was kind of scary," Alksne said of Kavanaugh's behavior.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCKrhtm7i7U
"Kavanaugh's unhinged, entitled rage is making it easy to imagine him grabbing a teenage girl, throwing her on a bed, and forcing himself on her while muffling her screams," writer Sarah Kendzior tweeted.
Kavanaugh's unhinged, entitled rage is making it easy to imagine him grabbing a teenage girl, throwing her on a bed, and forcing himself on her while muffling her screams
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) September 27, 2018