‘The View’ Panel Rips Trump for Standing by Kavanaugh

Co-hosts of ABC News’ “The View” mocked President Donald Trump on Tuesday for backing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh amid the 11th-hour allegations of sexual assault, which have now derailed his traditional Senate confirmation process.

“So there are calls to slow down the confirmation hearings of SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg noted.

“He is testifying in front of the Senate [Committee on the] Judiciary on Monday about sexual assault allegations against him — but the guy in the White House has already made up his mind about him.”

“The View” co-hosts played a video clip: It showed Trump defending Kavanaugh on Monday in his first public remarks on the subject at the White House.

“Judge Kavanaugh is one of the finest people that I have ever known … Never had even a little blemish on his record,” Trump said on Monday. “The FBI has, I think, gone through a process six times with him over the years where he went to higher and higher positions.”

But co-host Joy Behar mocked Trump for coming to Kavanaugh’s defense: “Yeah, says the blemish-in-chief.”

Trump also said on Monday, “At the same time, we want to go through a process. We want to make sure everything is perfect.”

The president nominated Kavanaugh back in July to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The Senate Judiciary Committee initially was scheduled to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination Thursday before sending the vote to the full Senate shortly thereafter.

But Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University in northern California, shocked the nation and derailed the process when she came forward publicly with allegations against Kavanaugh through an article published Sunday in The Washington Post.

Ford claims Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her 36 years ago, when they were teens in high school, during a party in Maryland.

The professor initially accused the judge anonymously in July, when she detailed her allegations to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) through her congresswoman, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.).

Many Americans criticized Feinstein for her decision not to air Ford’s anonymous allegations until so late in the confirmation process.

Kavanaugh has “categorically and unequivocally” denied Ford’s anonymous allegations against him. He released an additional statement on Monday after she came forward, calling it “a completely false allegation” because he has “never done anything like what the accuser describes — to her or to anyone.”

“Why would they rush this process for somebody that is … going to have a lifetime appointment?” said one co-host.

After noting that Trump backed his Supreme Court nominee amid a sexual assault allegation, Whoopi Goldberg highlighted several other questionable individuals whom Trump praised amid legal drama and/or controversy. Those included former presidential campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

“The View” co-hosts then debated whether the FBI should begin an investigation immediately into Ford’s allegations against Kavanaugh — or wait until after the two testify Monday.

Some of the ladies also fretted about how a Supreme Court appointment constitutionally is a “lifetime appointment.”

“So if this is a lifetime appointment, I want to be sure that this is — that we’re not rushing,” Goldberg said.

Behar said she believes Kavanaugh is a “bad liar” after he denied being at the party without Ford’s specifying which party it was.

“I completely agree,” Hostin said. “That’s a red flag, and I will tell you when someone is interviewed by the FBI, and, you know, if you lie to an FBI agent, that’s perjury and it’s five years in prison. And a lot of people have their ‘come to Jesus’ moments and they’re usually very forthright. Some of them still lie, and those people are in jail.”

“Why would they rush this process for somebody that is not only going to have a lifetime appointment … and could be on the bench for 40 years, could change the dynamic of the court and change our judicial rulings for the next couple of generations?” Hostin added.

“It just doesn’t make sense to go about rushing it.”

Related: Senate’s ‘Appalling’ Behavior Will Become ‘Free-for-All Circus’ Amid Kavanaugh Allegations

That’s when co-host Abby Huntsman chimed in and urged caution before a rush to judgment.

“See, this is surprising me because you’re a lawyer — innocent until proven guilty. It sounds like you’ve already made your decision about what happened here,” Huntsman said.

After Hostin argued she hasn’t yet made her decision, Huntsman added, “It’s just important to be careful. It’s just from your statements, it seems like you already have a take on this, which is fine … There is still so much — there is still so much we don’t know.”

Hostin replied, “I don’t want you to frame what I said like that because I don’t think I said that.”

“I don’t think we need to launch an investigation today because we’re going to hear from them hopefully on Monday,” Huntsman said. “I’m so glad it’s a public hearing because I do think the public needs to hear from both sides. He’s now saying … he wasn’t even at the party.”

“I think when we hear from her, if she is even slightly convincing he is going to be in a really tough situation,” she added.