Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is defending presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden after a former Senate staffer accused him of sexual assault. This is a 180-degree flip from Whitmer’s presumption of guilt against Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was accused of sexual assault by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
Just like Kavanaugh, Biden has vehemently denied the allegations by Reade. The difference between the two allegations, thus far, is Reade has family members, neighbors, and friends who corroborate her version of her sexual assault allegation. Meanwhile, Blasey Ford’s family and friends were unable to corroborate her version of the story.
During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Whitmer was asked about her change in standards for Biden in comparison to Kavanaugh.
“You’ve said that you believe Vice President Biden. I want to compare that to 2018, when you said you believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford after she accused now Justice Brett Kavanaugh of assault. Kavanaugh, like Biden, categorically denied that accusation,” Tapper said. “And Blasey Ford, to be honest, she did not have the contemporaneous accounts of her view of what happened that Tara Reade does… why do you believe Biden and not Kavanaugh? Are they not both entitled to the same presumption of innocence regardless of their political views?”
Whitmer responded by claiming survivor’s stories must be vetted and she personally believes Joe Biden is above sexual assault.
“You know Jake, as a survivor and as a feminist, I’ll say this. We need to give people an opportunity to tell their story. Then we have a duty to vet it. And just because you’re a survivor doesn’t mean that every claim is equal. It means we give them the ability to make their case,” Whitmer said. “I have read a lot about this current allegation. I know Joe Biden and I’ve watched his defense and there’s not a pattern that goes into this.”
On September 27, during Blasey Ford’s opening statement’s against Kavanaugh, Whitmer tweeted out “I believe Dr. Ford.”
I believe Dr. Ford
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) September 27, 2018
Whitmer tweeted this despite Blasey Ford’s inability to explain any timeline or details of her assault. Besides Blasey Ford’s allegations, there is no evidence Kavanaugh and Blasey Ford ever met, all alleged witnesses disputed Blasey Ford’s claims, she was unable to describe where the assault happen, when she arrived at the alleged place of assault, how she returned home, and this all came after Blasey Ford changed the date of the alleged assault.
Despite the lack of evidence, Whitmer unequivocally believed the liberal woman, who scrubbed her personal Facebook page of political messages, accusing the conservative Justice.
Unlike Blasey Ford, Reade’s version of her assault has been further confirmed by friends and family members that she told at the time of the alleged assault. This does not mean Reade is telling the truth, but unlike Blasey Ford, Reade has friends and family who actually recall her complaints and accurately recall her story.
A former neighbor and Biden supporter said Reade told her about the assault in the mid-’90s. A former co-worker recalls Reade’s version of being sexually harassed by a former boss in Washington D.C., and Reade’s own mother called into “Larry King Live” to explain her daughter’s story.
Whitmer told Tapper she knows Biden and doesn’t believe he would sexually assault a woman. In 2018, female friends, former colleagues and employees of Kavanaugh’s made the exact same claims about the judge. Women stood behind a banner reading “#IStandWithBrett” as they described personal stories and argued Blasey-Ford’s allegations are inconsistent with Kavanaugh’s personal attributes.
Thus far, Reade’s timeline of the allegation against Biden is more consistent than Blasey Ford’s ever was. There are women that vouched for Kavanaugh, just as Whitmer vouches for Biden. Why wouldn’t a so-called “feminist” and survivor of assault, like Whitmer, believe both women?
One picture perfectly encapsulates why Whitmer cares more about one woman’s assault than the others. Whitmer and Biden are “BFFs.” By BFF, Whitmer means “Biden’s Friend Forever.”
BFF: Biden’s Friend Forever pic.twitter.com/ojMlc1ClN2
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) September 12, 2018
In what looks like an endless crusade to secure a vice presidential nomination slot, Whitmer turned 180 degrees on her standards for sexual assault allegations in the age of #MeToo.
