--- title: Trump Calls Accusations About Brett Kavanaugh a 'Con Game' description: President Donald Trump called two women who have accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh part of a "Democratic con game." canonical: https://time.com/5405928/trump-kavanaugh-con-game/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-09-25T16:41:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:32:22.199Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Calls Two Women's Accusations About Brett Kavanaugh a Democratic 'Con Game' og:description: "Nobody ever knew about it. Nobody ever heard about it" og:url: https://time.com/5405928/trump-kavanaugh-con-game/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82bf9ffc99a7738d/69893b16656a3fd7e3bd591d/trump-colombian-president-u-n-general-assembly.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5472 og:image:height: 3078 og:image:alt: trump-ivan-duque-united-nations-general-assembly og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Calls Two Women's Accusations About Brett Kavanaugh a Democratic 'Con Game' twitter:description: "Nobody ever knew about it. Nobody ever heard about it" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82bf9ffc99a7738d/69893b16656a3fd7e3bd591d/trump-colombian-president-u-n-general-assembly.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Calls Two Women's Accusations About Brett Kavanaugh a Democratic 'Con Game' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Sep 25, 2018 4:41 PM UTC  President Donald Trump meets with Colombian President Ivan Duque during the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. Headquarters on Sept. 25, 2018. President Donald Trump meets with Colombian President Ivan Duque during the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. Headquarters on Sept. 25, 2018.Evan Vucci/AP/REX/Shutterstock by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Sep 25, 2018 4:41 PM UTC President Donald Trump dramatically escalated his attacks on two women who have accused Supreme Court nominee [Brett Kavanaugh](http://time.com/5404577/brett-kavanaugh-deborah-ramirez-hearing/) of sexual misconduct, saying the accusations are part of a “Democratic con game.” During a photo opportunity with the president of Colombia at the United Nations on Tuesday, Trump argued that a [California professor’s claim](https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/california-professor-writer-of-confidential-brett-kavanaugh-letter-speaks-out-about-her-allegation-of-sexual-assault/2018/09/16/46982194-b846-11e8-94eb-3bd52dfe917b%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.94116101f916) that a teenage Kavanaugh held her down on a bed, put his hand over her mouth and tried to remove her clothes was “totally unsubstantiated.” Trump noted that he [saw an interview with Kavanaugh](http://time.com/5405439/brett-kavanaugh-fox-news-interview-full/) and his wife on Fox News Monday night where Kavanaugh said he “never sexually assaulted anyone.” Trump also called Kavanaugh a “high quality person” and argued that Democrats are “playing a con game.” “He’s never had any charges like this,” Trump said. “I mean charges come up from 36 years ago that are totally unsubstantiated. You watching this as the president of a great country, Colombia, you must say, ‘How is this possible?’ Thirty-six years ago? Nobody ever knew about it. Nobody ever heard about it.” Christine Blasey Ford told the Washington _Post_ that she told no one of the incident until 2012, when she and her husband were in couples therapy. A therapist’s notes reviewed by the newspaper mention a student from an elite boy’s school who is now a high-ranking person in Washington but does not mention Kavanaugh by name. Trump also criticized a second woman who claims that as a college student, [Kavanaugh exposed himself](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/senate-democrats-investigate-a-new-allegation-of-sexual-misconduct-from-the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaughs-college-years-deborah-ramirez) to her during a drinking game. “And now a new charge comes up and she said it might not be him and there were gaps and she said she was totally inebriated and she was all messed up and she doesn’t know if it was him but it might have been him, oh, gee, let’s not make him a Supreme Court judge because of that,” he said. “This is a con game being played by the Democrats.” Deborah Ramirez told the _New Yorker_ that there were “significant gaps” in her memory from that evening but after talking with her attorney she was confident enough to speak out. Kavanaugh has denied both allegations. In a statement to the _New Yorker_, he said that the incident Ramirez described “did not happen.” “This is a smear, plain and simple,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5405928/trump-kavanaugh-con-game/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5405928/trump-kavanaugh-con-game/"},"headline":"President Trump Calls Two Women's Accusations About Brett Kavanaugh a Democratic 'Con Game'","datePublished":"2018-09-25T16:41:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:32:22.199Z","description":"\"Nobody ever knew about it. 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