In Montana rally, Trump attacks Democrats for ‘sick’ attacks against Supreme Court nominee

Speaking to supporters at a campaign rally in Montana on Thursday, President Trump went on the offensive against Democrats over what he described as “sick” attacks against his nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

“He’s doing really well,” Trump said, acknowledging Kavanaugh’s tense three days of confirmation hearings in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “But do you believe the anger and the meanness on the other side? Sick, it’s sick!”

Before taking the stage at his rally, President Trump joined Fox News’ Pete Hegseth at a separate side platform in the arena for a 10-minute interview.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

The president again unloaded on the New York Times following its Wednesday op-ed by an anonymous senior administration official who claimed they were actively working to thwart President Trump’s agenda from within.

“Well number one, The Times should never have done that because really what they’ve done is virtually, you know, it’s treason,” Trump said. “You could call it a lot of things.”

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

The president added that he’s more frustrated about the anonymity, because he believes it’s easier to discredit something negative written about him when the author isn’t anonymous, alluding to several books published in the past year that have painted the White House as on the brink of chaos.

“When somebody writes and you can’t discredit because you have no idea who they are, usually you’ll find out it was a background that was bad, it may not be a Republican, it may not be a conservative, it may be a deep state person that’s been there a long time,” Trump said. “We don’t know where — it’s a very unfair thing, and it’s very unfair to our country and the millions of people who voted for us.”

RKevin Lamarque/Reuters

The president then was asked about his recent threats that he might try and shut down the government over funding for his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border prior to the midterms, but seemed to settle on waiting until after the election is over.

“So most likely I will not do that but we’re going to do it immediately after the election,” Trump said, adding he had a “commitment” from Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and other congressional leaders to help push for a shutdown.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Trump’s visit to the state is the latest swing in what he has promised will be an aggressive effort on behalf of Republicans leading up to the November midterms. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is looking to fend off a challenge from state auditor Matt Rosendale, who has cozied up with Trump’s agenda in a state that Trump won in 2016 by 20 points.