One city, two worlds. Or maybe even three.
In the nation’s rain-slicked capital, fans and foes of Brett Kavanaugh spent much of Thursday fixated on the Senate confirmation hearings that could help tip his chances of becoming the next Supreme Court justice.
Women in parts of D.C. proudly wore red, white, and blue “Confirm Kavanaugh” pins with the judge’s smiling face at the center.
But blocks away, women in black—and sometimes in tears—empathized and identified with Christine Blasey Ford, the college professor who came to Washington to testify that a blind-drunk Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a high-school party in the 80’s.
And elsewhere, America’s center of power kept doing business, perhaps too busy, uninterested, or preoccupied to drop everything and glue themselves to the television screens beaming out a stunning moment in U.S. history. It’s a divide, not necessarily caused by apathy, but in many cases because the financial pressures and time demands on working people are too urgent.
Glamour traveled to Washington to get a panoramic view of those parallel worlds and match them up with the clock—which is rushing toward a decision on Kavanaugh’s fate:
8:54 A.M. – Washington artist Susan Prolman stands outside Union Station with a poster she designed that depicts a statue of Lady Justice holding her sword and scales, framed by the words, “Grab Her By the Pussy.” Prolman says she made the sign because she is “opposed to Donald Trump, our sexual ‘predator-in-chief’s’ nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.”
9:11 A.M. – A pro-Kavanaugh rally organized by groups including Independent Women’s Forum and Concerned Women for America is well underway at a grassy park near the Russell Senate Office Building.
A mixed-gender crowd listens to speakers, gathering in support of the judge while sporting “I Stand With Brett” t-shirts and waving printed “Confirm Kavanaugh” signs. One bright yellow handmade placard demands: “Stop the Con Game.”
Patrice Onwuka, 36, a senior policy analyst for IWF, tells Glamour her group takes “allegations of sexual assault very seriously. No woman should be raped or molested or touched against her will. She should be able to get justice. She should be able to get closure. She should even be able to get heard.” However, Onwuka continues, “we also take seriously the idea of due process, and the bedrock principle in our criminal justice system of the presumption of innocence.”
10:05 A.M. – C-SPAN begins broadcasting from the Senate Judiciary Committee proceedings.
10:32 A.M. – Ford is prepared to begin her testimony.
“I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school” – Dr. Ford
10:41 A.M. – Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) visits Ford supporters—many publicly identifying themselves as sexual assault survivors—who are gathered in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building. She pauses to tell Glamour that she considers the Republican rushing of the confirmation process to be disrespectful to assault survivors.
11:15 A.M. – Joy Gerhard, 34, is comforted by women around her as she weeps while Ford’s testimony continues. Inked on her left arm is a series of dates: Those numbers, she says, represent each time she was subjected to sexual violence, starting in childhood. Gerhard tells Glamour she felt compelled to come to D.C. from her home in Seattle, as painful as the hearings are for her.
“Ever since Anita Hill testified, we know what it looks like when a woman goes in front of this committee,” Gerhard says, brushing away tears. “The fact that Dr. Ford knew what she was getting herself into, and chose to do it anyway, I… She must have a spine of steel or something, but it didn’t seem right for her to do this by herself.”
11:20 A.M. – Ford testifies during questioning that the most vivid memory she has of her alleged assault is the laughter from Brett Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge.
“What is the strongest memory you have, the strongest memory of the incident…something you cannot forget?” asked Senator Patrick Leahy (D–Vt.). “Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two. And their having fun at my expense,” she replied.
12:43 P.M. – The city’s Metrobus system notifies commuters that “Due to downed wires at River Rd & Burdette Rd, buses may experience delays in both directions.”
2:00 P.M. – A major conference at American University features a workshop that encourages attendees to “share experiences from leading civil society organizations using different procedures to challenge unmerited patents and/or applications as a key strategy for improving access to affordable medicines.”
2:15 P.M. – Before her testimony ends, Ford says that if she knew when Mark Judge worked at a Potomac, Md. Safeway grocery store, she could pin down the date of her alleged assault. (Ford says she ran into Judge some weeks after that 1982 assault).
“It would be helpful … to figure out when he worked there, if people are wanting more details from me about when the attack occurred. If we could find out when he worked there, then I could provide a more detailed timeline as to when the attack occurred.”
2:28 P.M. – At Cafe Bliss on 2nd Street NE, business is quiet. The orderboard announces the day’s special as a bagel, croissant, or multigrain bread with a choice of toppings for $3.99. There’s no television on; a small speaker is booming Franz Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata, D. 821.
3:18 P.M. – Kavanaugh’s testimony has begun; he maintains his denial of the sexual assault allegations lodged against him.
“This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election,” he said. “Fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.”
“I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone. Not in high school, not in college, not ever. Sexual assault is horrific.”
4:00 P.M. – Not far from the Hart building, The Veterans of Foreign Wars holds a ceremony to receive one of the U.S. flags that draped the cases of the remains of American servicemembers repatriated from North Korea.
4:50 P.M. – Kavanaugh questioning continues. In a display of anger, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), accuses committee Dems of trying to “destroy this guy’s life.”
“What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020.”
“This is not a job interview. This is hell.” – Sen. Graham
He continued: “Boy, you all want power, God, I hope you never get it,” he said. “I hope the American people can see through this sham. That you knew about it and you held it.”
The White house rushes to defend Graham.
5:38 P.M. – Rush hour traffic builds up and the District is growing darker and rainier. At a pub not far from where Kavanaugh continues to face the senators, patrons’ attention is split between reading the subtitles on coverage of the hearings, checking out the latest on Tiger Woods on ESPN, a live sports radio broadcast at the back of the room, and happy-hour chatter.
6:23 P.M. – Rachel Kinsey, 36, took a break from the accounting firm she runs and came to Washington from Woodstock, Georgia to support Ford: “She was calm, cool, and collected [and] answered questions directly,” Kinsey says of Ford, while not giving Kavanaugh that positive a review.
6:48 P.M. – The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing adjourns. Their vote on recommending Kavanaugh to the full Senate for confirmation is scheduled for Friday.
Celeste Katz is senior politics reporter for Glamour. Send news tips, questions, and comments to celeste_katz@condenast.com.
