In wild conspiracy, Trump claims protesters of Kavanaugh are “paid for by Soros”

President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted a baseless conspiracy theory, in which he claimed the sexual assault victims who are protesting against Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination on Capitol Hill are actually paid protesters bankrolled by George Soros, a Jewish billionaire who donates to Democratic causes.

“The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad,” Trump tweeted. “Don’t fall for it! Also, look at all of the professionally made identical signs. Paid for by Soros and others. These are not signs made in the basement from love! #Troublemakers.”

Trump is referring to sexual assault victims who have confronted senators on Capitol Hill, including Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Orrin Hatch of Utah.

Flake, for his part, listened to the survivors who confronted him on Capitol Hill last week. But Hatch was dismissive, telling a group of women survivors to “grow up” in a testy exchange Thursday near an elevator in the Capitol complex.

“Why aren’t you brave enough to talk to us and exchange with us?” a female protester asks Hatch, who is waiting for an elevator.

“Don’t you wave your hand at me,” the protester continues. “I waved my hand at you.”

“When you grow up I’ll be glad to talk to you,” Hatch then says as he gets onto the elevator.

Trump’s claim that Soros is bankrolling the protesters is a baseless conspiracy theory that the far right has glommed onto in the Trump era.

Far right agitators claim Soros is a Nazi, a ridiculous conspiracy given that Soros and his family survived the Holocaust.

And Republicans — including the president’s own son, Donald Trump Jr. — like to dismiss real protests as Astroturf gatherings paid for by Soros.

“The well ORGANIZED effort by Florida school students demanding gun control has GEORGE SOROS’ FINGERPRINTS all over it,” former Milwaukee County sheriff and Trump supporter David A. Clarke Jr., tweeted back in February. “It is similar to how he hijacked and exploited black people’s emotion regarding police use of force incidents into the COP HATING Black Lives Matter movement.”