President Trump on Friday painted anti-Kavanaugh protesters who confronted senators in congressional elevators as “paid professionals.”

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 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2018

Both Republican Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Orrin Hatch of Utah were yelled at this past week by protesters opposed to Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination. Other lawmakers have been confronted in the hallways of the Capitol and their offices by advocates pushing for them to vote against the nomination.

Hundreds more demonstrated outside the Supreme Court and inside the Senate Hart Office Building on Thursday.

Republican Sen. Charles E. Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, also criticized the protesters during an interview Friday morning but did not suggest they were part of a funded effort.

He said the aggressive demonstrations directed at Republicans were the result of Democrat lawmakers encouraging that form of protesting. The Iowa senator said his colleagues should be promoting “civility not incivility.”

“You’re seeing the resistance headquarters right here on Capitol Hill all among Democrats,” Mr. Grassley said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”

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