In some critics' eyes, Christine Blasey Ford was a liar from the moment she set foot in a California airport.
Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday to allege that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers in the 1980s. Republican members of the committee hired Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to question Ford.
Mitchell called into question how Ford had managed to fly from California to Washington, D.C., when she has previously said she is afraid of flying. Ford mentioned the fear when negotiating the terms of the hearing, saying she'd prefer not to fly if possible. Conservative outlets latched on: Breitbart called it Ford's "fly lie," and the National Review crowed that Ford had "admitted" to flying for business or vacation despite her phobia. Even Donald Trump Jr. grabbed the opportunity to criticize Ford, calling it a "selective fear."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Many other conservatives, including President Trump, have said Ford seemed exceptionally credible, leaving Kavanaugh defenders grasping to dismantle her testimony. Ford told Mitchell that she "unfortunately" had to take flights for her job, and that she'd gone by plane on vacation to visit her family on the East Coast. She said she didn't like it, but that she had gotten up the "gumption" for the purpose of the hearing.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.