Women are running away from their support of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in droves — at least, that’s what a few misleading tweets that circulated on Monday would have you believe. But in reality, of the 65 women who signed a letter supporting his nomination, none have publicly withdrawn their support. Several, in contrast, have reaffirmed it.
Politico writer Daniel Lippman raised questions when he tweeted that of the 65 women who initially signed a letter in support of Kavanaugh, “only TWO said they still stood by him.” (That number was later updated to five.)
According to his article, however, that number only actually reflected the women who had responded positively to requests for comment.
He indicated in the tweet that he had contacted “over two dozen,” most of whom did not respond.
.@AndrewRestuccia and I called many of Kavanaugh’s 65 female HS acquittances who signed a letter supporting him. After his accuser came out on Sunday, only TWO said they still stood by him. More than two dozen didn’t respond, and two declined to comment. https://t.co/Q7ux6pmzrf
— Daniel Lippman (@dlippman) September 17, 2018
And the story quickly took off, being framed in a similar manner by others.
A day after Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser came forward, only 2 women are still standing by him https://t.co/yhQgxV3jMV
— Shareblue Media (@Shareblue) September 17, 2018
Important. Don’t let this be a footnote. Only TWO women who signed the original letter were willing to stand by home after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came forward. #StopKavanaugh https://t.co/KBMxhMu6Xq
— ilyse hogue (@ilyseh) September 17, 2018
Reporters from Politico called each of the 65 female HS acquaintances who, last week, signed a letter supporting Brett Kavanaugh.
After his accuser came out on Sunday, only TWO said they still stood by him.
The S.S. Kavanaugh is sinking.
— Rob Bennett (@rob_bennett) September 17, 2018
Only two of the 65 women who vouched for Kavanaugh stand by him after accuser comes forward https://t.co/0BMYgKretR
— Raw Story (@RawStory) September 17, 2018
The Daily Caller reached out to Lippman, presenting the following concern:
Based on the article you published at Politico, it appears that most of the 65 women who signed the letter in support of Brett Kavanaugh either were not contacted or did not respond when they were contacted …
… The way this tweet is worded implies that all but 2 of the women who signed that letter are rethinking their positions in light of the accusations against him — and the article doesn’t really bear that out.
Lippman simply referred TheDC to a tweeted update, explaining that he was adding comments from the women as the got back to him.
Five of the 65 women who signed last week’s pro-Kavanaugh letter have now reaffirmed their support publicly or directly to @politico reporters, who have tried to reach out to all signers. Update here: https://t.co/Q7ux6pEaiN
— Daniel Lippman (@dlippman) September 17, 2018
But one problem in the initial tweet — which was not addressed in the update — was the implication that Kavanaugh’s supporters were reconsidering their positions in the wake of recent accusations of sexual misconduct from California-based professor Christine Blasey Ford.
FWIW, I think this tweet is misleading folks. I simply tried back the two signatories I spoke with on Friday. I asked the one I reached, who said she stood by it, to have other signatories call me. Already, five have called me to say they stand by the letter and Kavanaugh. https://t.co/UEZKuvrgMF
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) September 17, 2018
Also not mentioned in the tweet was the fact that, according to the quoted article, none of the women have yet come forward to reverse their statements or withdraw their support for Kavanaugh.
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