CNN helpfully hosted a panel of “average” Republican women to get a feeling on where they stand about the allegation from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh attacked her when she was 15 years old (he was 17 at the time), pinning her on a bed, trying to take off her clothes, and putting his hand over her mouth when she protested.
In a shockingly cruel and unified voice, the women all brushed off the allegations. One woman helpfully pointed out that all teen boys do this! Not sure how these women are raising their sons, but no—not all young men do this, and we shouldn’t accept it when they do.
You can watch the segment below, but it didn’t take long for Twitter users to identify the “average” Republican women and expose their deep connections to both the Kavanaugh nomination and the Republican Party as a whole. CNN should have clearly identified these women and their party connections.
The woman in the white sweater is Lourdes de la Peña. She and her husband have hosted $1,000-per-plate fundraisers in their home for (and with) Ted and Heidi Cruz. Twitter user Shawn Brandt showed that Irina Villarino, seated in the middle, is such a big Trump supporter that she was seated directly next to Donald Trump at a recent tax cut event. Another woman, Gina Sosa, is a failed Republican candidate in Florida.
These women are most certainly not the “average” Republican women that CNN portrayed them as, and this isn’t the first time this has happened on CNN. In the era of Donald Trump, they have TWICE featured a plain ol’, average Republican woman screeching about how much she hated Obama and loves Donald Trump. Unfortunately, they never identified this woman as Susan DeLemus, a now former Republican state representative in New Hampshire, who gained a reputation for racist ideas and policies. They also neglected to mention her husband is Jerry DeLemus of the Trump for President Veteran's Coalition, who is currently serving seven years in federal prison for his role in Cliven Bundy’s standoff with federal agents in Nevada in 2014. Jerry DeLemus also turned up at the Ammon and Ryan Bundy takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in 2016.
This panel was filmed before Deborah Ramirez came forward with another allegation, that a drunken Brett Kavanaugh humiliated her in their dorm when he exposed himself and pushed his penis in her face, trying to convince her to kiss it in front of their peers. Attorney Michael Avenatti is also publicizing that he has another client, a third woman with accusations against Brett Kavanaugh.
Here’s one of Susan DeLemus’ appearances as an “average” Republican voter, where she repeatedly exclaims President Obama is a liar and Donald Trump really speaks to her.
Here she is again, after the 2016 election, on another panel of “average” Trump supporters. This time, she helpfully explains to CNN’s Alisyn Camerota that she fully trusts then President-elect Donald Trump. Who is booking these “average” voters for CNN, and why aren’t they more forthright about their obvious connections to the Republican Party itself?