Supreme court nominee seemed to to be channeling the president when he came out swinging at an extraordinary hearing

With his fiery testimony, Kavanaugh appears more Trump-like than ever

Earlier this month, Brett Kavanaugh presented himself to the Senate judiciary committee as an affable, even-keeled girls basketball coach, who patiently answered questions amid a four-day spectacle that was interrupted by protests and partisan bickering.

On Thursday, he tried a new approach. Ripped from the pages of the Donald Trump playbook, Kavanaugh was defiant and combative throughout an hours-long hearing that will determine whether he ascends to the nation’s highest court.

Trump had stood by his nominee amid a swirl of mounting sexual assault allegations that Kavanaugh has categorically denied. But on Wednesday, Trump said “he can always be convinced” by the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford, the California professor who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in teenagers.

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With his nomination on the line, Kavanaugh spent the evening before his testimony drafting a blistering opening statement that was starkly different in substance and tone from the testimony that had been released in advance of the hearing.

In a furious and emotional 45-minute speech, Kavanaugh defended himself against the claims brought by Ford and two other women while seething about Democrats’ handling of the confirmation process.

Play Video 3:24 'I believed he was going to rape me,' Ford tells Senate panel – video

“This confirmation process has become a national disgrace,” he said. “The constitution gives the Senate an important role in the confirmation process, but you have replaced advise and consent with search and destroy.”

He accused Senate Democrats of “orchestrating a “grotesque and coordinated character assassination” and blamed deep-seated partisan animus dating back to the presidency of Bill Clinton and extending through the 2016 election.

At another point he broke down in tears as he told the committee that when he prayed with his family on Wednesday night, his young daughter suggested that they pray for Ford.

“It’s a lot of wisdom from a 10-year-old. We mean – we mean no ill will,” he said, his voice almost pleading.

Kavanaugh sat alone at a wooden table opposite the dais where the 21 senators listened to him, stone-faced.

“You may defeat me in the final vote,” he told them. “But you’ll never get me to quit. Never.”

Just hours before, the senators listened to Ford recount in vivid detail how a drunken, teenage Kavanaugh allegedly pinned her to a bed, tried to remove her clothes and placed his hand over her mouth when she screamed.

Kavanaugh said he did not watch her testimony as he was focused on preparing for his own. But he repeatedly denied the claims.

The senators remained relatively civil during Ford’s testimony. Republicans delegated their questions to an outside prosecutor, Rachel Mitchell. Kavanaugh’s portion of the hearing began combatively and devolved into a partisan brawl when Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican of south Carolina, exploded in a fit of rage.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Senator Lindsey Graham during the hearing. Photograph: Pool/Getty Images

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” a livid Graham told Kavanaugh. “This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics.”

The senator then turned to Democrats. “Boy, you all want power. God, I hope you never get it. I hope the American people can see through this sham.”

Graham’s outburst unleashed a torrent of partisan frustration that roiled an already supercharged hearing. Republicans stopped deferring to Mitchell, who sat quietly in front of the dais for the remainder of the hearing. Instead, they used their time to lash out at the Democrats and denounce the politicized process.

“I can’t think of a more embarrassing scandal for the United States Senate since the McCarthy hearings,” Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, said.

Kavanaugh had several heated exchanges with Democrats, as they pressed him on whether he would support an FBI investigation into Ford’s and other claims. He repeatedly demurred. He also faced questions about his personal behavior and conduct, including his sexual history and drinking habits. Kavanaugh said on several occasions: “I like beer” but said he never drank to the point he could not remember.

In a bizarre back-and-forth, Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, questioned him about blackout drinking. “I don’t know. Have you?” Kavanaugh retorted.

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When the judge returned from a break, Kavanaugh apologized to Klobuchar and conceded that the process was grinding him down.

In a final exchange, Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, asked Kavanaugh to look him in the eye and tell him if the allegations against him were true. Kavanaugh said they were not.

“Do you swear to God?” Kennedy asked.

“I swear to God,” he replied.

Moments later, Trump tweeted: “Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats’ search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!”