In Philly, Amal Clooney Chides Trump for Mocking Christine Ford
The human rights attorney earned a standing ovation for her speech on Friday morning in Center City.
Amal Clooney speaks at the 2018 Pennsylvania Conference for Women. | (Photo by Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images )
At the Pennsylvania Conference for Women on Friday morning, keystone speaker Amal Clooney criticized President Donald Trump’s mockery of Christine Ford earlier this month.
“A president shouldn’t ridicule a woman who courageously comes forward to allege abuse,” Clooney said during the conference in Philadelphia, referring to a speech Trump made in Mississippi earlier this month.
"For too long women have suffered without speaking out or without being believed. In the US, a woman is assaulted every 9 seconds." Amal Clooney #PennWomen
— PA Conf for Women (@PennWomen) October 12, 2018
During Trump’s Mississippi address on October 2nd, days after Ford testified that then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh attempted to sexually assault her in the ’80s, Trump imitated Ford, acting as if she hadn’t responded to the very questions that she had, in fact, answered during her testimony.
“‘I had one beer,'” Trump said, mimicking the 51-year-old psychology professor. “‘Well, do you think it was’ — ‘Nope, it was one beer.’ ‘How did you get home?’ ‘I don’t remember.’ ‘How’d you get there?’ ‘I don’t remember.’ ‘Where is the place?’ ‘I don’t remember.’ ‘How many years ago was it?’ ‘I don’t know.'”
In reality, Ford provided details about the alleged attack, including when she said it occurred (the summer of 1982), as well as where (in an upstairs bedroom of a home in the Bethesda, Maryland area.) Factcheck.org broke down Trump’s claims versus Ford’s actual testimony.
Clooney, a human rights attorney and wife of actor George Clooney, received a standing ovation after her speech at the conference inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City. She also addressed the larger #MeToo movement during her talk, calling it “a defining moment in the struggle for women’s rights.”
"MeToo should mean that those in power are listening." Amal Clooney #PennWomen
— PA Conf for Women (@PennWomen) October 12, 2018
“We are living through a moment of reckoning and a rebalancing of power,” Clooney said during her speech. “There is still much for us to do. Still, I am optimistic.”
Clooney has condemned Trump before: In 2016, she spoke out against what she considered the then-presidential nominee’s anti-Muslim rhetoric.
I'm sure the "president" will be delivering a "failing Amal Clooney" tweet at some point during his next unhinged rant. 🙄 https://t.co/IlmbvAGg25
— ⚾️⚾️ Kerry – PHILLIES are WORLD SERIES BOUND! ⚾️⚾️ (@jskj9121) October 12, 2018
The sold-out Pennsylvania Conference for Women, the largest event of its kind in the tri-state area, began at 7 a.m. on Friday and will run through 5 p.m.
The conference’s 100-plus speakers also include tennis superstar Serena Williams, comedian and actor Maysoon Zayid, venture capitalist and CNBC panelist Nisa Amoils, and National Women’s Hockey League founder and commissioner Dani Rylan. Last year, Michelle Obama spoke at the event.
