HarrisX Poll CEO Dritan Nesho said on Monday that the controversy surrounding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexual assault in the 1980s, has echoes of Anita Hill’s sexual harassment accusations against Justice Clarence Thomas.
“It will get much more worse,” Nesho told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha on “What America’s Thinking,” referring to the political fight over Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
“You see echoes of Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas in this specific situation with Kavanaugh and this woman coming in with accusations from their past,” he continued.
Hill in 1991 testified against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, accusing him of making unwanted sexual advances.
While Thomas ended up being confirmed, Hill’s testimony helped draw attention to the issue of sexual harassment in the work place.
Nesho’s comments come after California psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford went public with her accusation against Kavanaugh in an interview with The Washington Post on Sunday.
Ford told the Post that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and forced himself on her when the two were attending neighboring high schools in Montgomery County, Md.
Democrats have called for Kavanaugh’s nomination to be delayed in light of the allegations.
Americans were split on Kavanaugh’s nomination even before the sexual assault allegations came to light.
A CNN poll conducted before the allegations publicly surfaced found that 40 percent of Americans said he should be confirmed, while 36 percent said they were opposed.
“The CNN poll that you mentioned was done last Tuesday, and there’s polling for weeks before that that shows that the public was split about whether Kavanaugh should have been approved or not,” Nesho said.
— Julia Manchester
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