Trump claims ‘paid protesters’ during Kavanaugh confirmation ‘haven’t gotten their checks’
President Donald Trump on Tuesday further outlined his conspiracy theory that protesters were hired to oppose Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, writing on Twitter that those protesters had not been paid because they “were far too obvious.”
“The paid D.C. protesters are now ready to REALLY protest because they haven’t gotten their checks - in other words, they weren’t paid! Screamers in Congress, and outside, were far too obvious - less professional than anticipated by those paying (or not paying) the bills!” Trump tweeted.
The president and some Republican senators have pushed a theory that protesters who accosted senators over Kavanaugh’s confirmation were paid to do so by wealthy liberal donors such as George Soros. Though left-leaning advocacy groups with influential Democratic donors did organize some protests, many protesters said they descended on the Capitol and Supreme Court on their own.
Trump has yet to put forth any evidence to back up his claim of widespread paid protesters.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation on Saturday marked the end of one of the most contentious Supreme Court confirmation processes in history. Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate via a 50-48 vote amid allegations of sexual assault leveled against him by multiple women, accusations he has vehemently denied.
Trump has previously called the anti-Kavanaugh protesters, some of whom blocked elevators and flooded hallways to recount stories of sexual assault to cornered senators, “rude elevator screamers” who carried professionally made signs and were funded “by Soros and others.”
“The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad. Don’t fall for it! Also, look at all of the professionally made identical signs. Paid for by Soros and others. These are not signs made in the basement from love! #Troublemakers,” Trump tweeted Friday.
Other Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, denounced the protesters as violating the decorum demanded in the halls of the Capitol. McConnell said Monday that Republicans were “literally under assault” as protesters confronted them on the Hill and near their homes.
Ana Maria Archila, a self-identified sexual assault survivor who confronted Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) in an elevator, said in a statement Friday that Trump was merely attempting to discredit those keeping elected officials accountable. Archila is co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a liberal advocacy group.
“No one can pay for someone’s lived experiences,” Archila wrote in the statement. “The pain, the trauma, and the rage that I expressed when I spoke with Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator were my own, and I held it for more than 30 years to protect the people I love from it.”