President Trump has finally done the unthinkable — and yet it was somehow expected. Friday morning he took to Twitter to attack Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Dr. Blasey has until now escaped Trump's direct wrath — to the surprise of many. But by Friday Trump was no longer holding back. He's come out expressing doubt as to the veracity of Ford's claims and is continuing his ongoing defense of Kavanaugh. Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a fine man, with an impeccable reputation, who is under assault by radical left wing politicians who don’t want to know the answers, they just want to destroy and delay. Facts don’t matter. I go through this with them every single day in D.C. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018 I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018 The radical left lawyers want the FBI to get involved NOW. Why didn’t someone call the FBI 36 years ago? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018 Senator Feinstein and the Democrats held the letter for months, only to release it with a bang after the hearings were OVER - done very purposefully to Obstruct & Resist & Delay. Let her testify, or not, and TAKE THE VOTE! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018 The suggestion that Ford is lying about the attack is bad enough, but this is an unprecedented statement for a president to make — especially coming from a man who has come under similar scrutiny for his own behavior. Besides the infamous Access Hollywood tape, Trump has been accused by numerous women of sexual harassment and assault. But perhaps most galling is the way Trump's attack suggests that just because women don't report rapes or assaults, they must not be true. In fact, as Vox noted this week, about two-thirds of rape cases and only one-third of battery or assault cases are reported to police, according to The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). And in a vast majority of the cases in which rapes and assaults are reported, the perpetrator never sees jail time. In reality, seven out of every 10 victims don't report to the police. — RAINN (@RAINN) September 21, 2018 That doesn't even touch on the issue of victim shaming that still permeates our culture, even in 2018 in the wake of the #MeToo movement. As Mashable's Angie Han wrote following the wave of Harvey Weinstein allegations, specifically about the shaming of accuser Ashley Judd: The shame game is playing out in real time, too. While Ashley Judd, the first to go on the record about Weinstein's harassment, has received praise, the online conversation about her is simultaneously punishing. Comments on our Facebook page at time of writing described her as a "loser" who "needs a paycheck." On Twitter, commenters dismissed her bravery as hollow "now that she's washed up." Trump's attacks is just the latest not only in this cycle, but in his own behavior of attacking those who make accusations of assault. Trumps comments follow an unusual period of silence in which even his aides were reportedly shocked at how mild the president's statements on Ford had been. But it also follows a horrendous meme attacking Ford shared by his son, Don Jr., on Instagram and the president's outburst last week denying the reported death toll from Hurricane Maria.<doc-sep>"I was appalled by the president's tweet," Collins said, adding that sexual assault crimes are notoriously underreported. "I thought the president's tweet was completely inappropriate and wrong." Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who has yet to state whether she supports Kavanaugh's nomination, blasted Trump's tweet in remarks to reporters later Friday. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's tweets, nor did an attorney for Ford. Trump followed up with a tweet attacking the accuser's credibility. In the post, he suggested that Christine Blasey Ford , who accuses Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school more than three decades ago, should have reported the alleged incident to the police if it was "as bad as she says." "Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a fine man, with an impeccable reputation, who is under assault by radical left wing politicians who don't want to know the answers, they just want to destroy and delay," the president tweeted Friday morning. President Donald Trump on Friday intensified his defense of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh , claiming that the sex assault allegations against the conservative judge amounted to a hit job by political opponents. Trump was also quick to say Kavanaugh's accuser, California researcher and professor, should "have her say, and let's see how it all works out." "You say, why didn't somebody call the FBI 36 years ago?" the president told political ally and Fox News personality Sean Hannity on Thursday in Las Vegas, where Trump also held a campaign rally. "I mean, you could also say, when did this all happen? What's going on?" The posts marked a shift toward a more aggressive tone from Trump in the ongoing fight over his Supreme Court nominee, although the president has increasingly been casting doubt on the sexual-assault accusation. He repeated his FBI question in a tweet Friday morning. TRUMP FBI TWEET Trump had said earlier this week that it was "very hard for me to imagine something happened." The president's comments came after Ford's attorneys told the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees Supreme Court confirmations, that their client would want to testify about her allegations next Thursday, albeit under certain conditions. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley had scheduled a hearing for Monday, but Ford's attorneys said that wouldn't give the woman enough time to prepare. Meanwhile, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that public opposition to Kavanaugh's nomination has surged following the nominee's confirmation hearings earlier this month and the revelation of the accusations. A plurality of voters now oppose Kavanaugh, according to the survey, which is in line with findings from other recent polls. Ford, 51, came forward with her accusations in an interview with The Washington Post that was published Sunday. She claims that when she was about 15, Kavanaugh, then about 17, sexually assaulted her during a drunken gathering of high school students. The judge has denied the accusations. Ford also said that Mark Judge, a conservative writer who was a friend of Kavanaugh's at the time, was also in the room. Judge has said he has no memory of such an occurrence. Ford wrote a letter detailing her allegation that was received by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, in late July, but it was not publicly reported until mid-September. Representatives for Feinstein and Grassley didn't immediately respond to requests for comments on Trump's tweets Friday morning. Republicans had been on track to confirm Kavanaugh, 53, in time for the Supreme Court's next term, which starts Oct. 1. The GOP has a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate, and two defections could sink the judge's nomination. While GOP senators have been careful to say they want to hear Ford tell her story, they have also been itching to move the process along. Trump echoed that desire Thursday night. "I don't think you can delay it any longer," Trump told Hannity. Read the note Ford's attorneys sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, obtained by NBC News:<doc-sep>(CNN) — Sen. Susan Collins said she is “appalled” by a tweet from President Donald Trump disparaging the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. The Maine Republican called the statement from the President “inappropriate and wrong.” “I was appalled by the President’s tweet,” Collins said Friday, according to audio obtained by CNN of an event where she spoke with local reporters. RELATED: Senate Judiciary Committee likely proposing Wednesday hearing with Ford testifying first The senator, who is a crucial swing vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination, was responding to a question on what she thought of a tweet from the President suggesting that Christine Blasey Ford should have come forward with her allegation against Kavanaugh earlier. “We know that allegations of sexual assault – I’m not saying that’s what happened in this case – but we know that allegations of sexual assault are one of the most unreported crimes that exist, so I thought that the President’s tweet was completely inappropriate and wrong,” Collins said. On Friday, Trump escalated his criticism of Ford, who has alleged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party in the early 1980s when they were in high school. Kavanaugh has categorically denied the allegations. After tweeting on Friday morning that Kavanaugh is “a fine man,” Trump cast doubt on Ford’s credibility, saying in a tweet that “if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says,” charges would have been filed. In a later tweet, Trump said, “Why didn’t someone call the FBI 36 years ago?” According to the Portland Press Herald, which first reported on the comments from Collins, the senator was at an event in Portland, Maine, when she weighed in on the President’s tweets. Senate Republicans are negotiating with Ford’s lawyers to determine the terms under which she would be willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which handles Supreme Court nominations, about her allegations next week. “I think we should try to accommodate Professor Ford within the realm of reasonableness,” Collins said. “I do think that both she and Judge Kavanaugh need to testify under oath, but I believe we should attempt to make this as comfortable a process for her as possible.” Collins said that Monday would be the “preferred date” for a hearing but she didn’t “see a problem” with the possibility of it taking place Wednesday or Thursday.<doc-sep>About one year after the #MeToo movement became a rallying cry for survivors of sexual harassment and assault to speak out, some victims are using another hashtag to explain why they stayed silent about their experiences. Twitter was aflame Friday with the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport, which came in reaction to a tweet early in the day from President Donald Trump attacking Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party when they were in high school. Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied Ford’s story. It is well-documented that the majority of sexual assaults are not reported to the police, and that there are a variety of reasons why victims choose not to say anything. Trump, who has dismissed as liars the 19 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, claimed in a tweet that Ford would have reported the alleged attack to authorities if it had been “as bad as she says.” According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), two out of every three sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Reasons for the lack of reportage vary; RAINN’s statistics say 20% of victims fear retaliation, 13% believe the authorities would not do anything to help and 13% believe it is a personal matter. Trump’s tweet prompted hundreds of people to share exactly why they did not report their rapes and assaults. Alyssa Milano, an actor and prominent #MeToo activist, addressed Trump directly. Ashley Judd, one of the high-profile actors who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, also shared her story. Judd said she shared her experiences with adults who dismissed her by siding with her attackers. Several of the accounts shared Friday echo Judd’s story. Abigail Hauslohner, a reporter for The Washington Post and a former TIME correspondent, said the only person she ever told about her rape said to her, “He would never do that.” “I didn’t think anyone would help me,” she tweeted. Even more stories emerged as Friday went on, revealing how difficult it can be for victims to come forward. Others shared that even after they came forward, they received blame instead of help. The actor and activist Daryl Hannah said she did report her assault — and that it “didn’t matter.” “I was dismissed, disparaged, & I still get blamed,” she said. Stories from other people revealed a similar experience. By Friday afternoon, #WhyIDidntReport was one of the top trending topics on Twitter as people came together in solidarity. Get our Politics Newsletter. The headlines out of Washington never seem to slow. Subscribe to The D.C. Brief to make sense of what matters most. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . 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(CNN) — President Donald Trump, in a series of tweets Friday, deviated from his previously measured comments about the woman who has accused his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, claiming that if the attack she alleges “was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities”. In a series of tweets, Trump threw into question the validity of Professor Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations in the most direct way since the allegations against Kavanaugh came to light and said his Supreme Court nominee is “under assault by radical left wing politicians.” “I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place,” Trump tweeted. Hours after his initial rebukes of Ford, Trump returned to Twitter to take aim against Senator Dianne Feinstein for waiting to release a letter that detailed Ford’s allegation, claiming she and fellow democrats planned to “release it with a bang after the hearings were OVER.” Feinstein has said she did so because the accuser had asked her to keep the allegation confidential. Trump also called for the process to reach its completion, writing ” Let her testify, or not, and TAKE THE VOTE!” Ford has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party when they were both in high school. He denies it happened. CNN reported earlier Thursday that Trump has bragged about the positive coverage he’s received for his handling of Kavanaugh’s accuser, according to multiple sources. That response has contributed to him continuing to say Ford should come forward with her story. Those who work closely with the President say he has privately voiced suspicion about the #MeToo movement and complained that decades-old allegations could ruin men’s lives in an instant. The President himself stands accused of various levels of sexual misconduct by 15 women, all of which he has denied Trump also insinuated on Twitter that the claims were coming from “radical” left wing lawyers and politicians on Twitter and asked why no one called the Federal Bureau of Investigation 36 years ago. The FBI would not have jurisdiction in the case at the time of the alleged assault. Ford told The Washington Post she told no one at the time what had happened to her, and was terrified of punishment from her parents if they realized she had been at a party where underage drinking was happening. She told the Post she remembered thinking, “I’m not ever telling anyone this. This is nothing, it didn’t happen, and he didn’t rape me.” After going through psychotherapy, Ford said, she now understands the incident as a trauma that has had lasting impact on her life. Before the president’s tweets Friday, counselor to the president, Kellyanne Conway told reporters there was “no reason” to attack Ford. “There’s no reason to attack her. The president is defending his nomination to the United States Supreme Court as a man of character, integrity, impeccable academic and judicial qualifications,” Conway said when asked about the President’s measured response to the allegations. Following the Post’s report on Ford’s account, multiple West Wing officials and outside advisers feverishly phoned Trump on Sunday in the wake of Ford’s detailed account of the assault. “Why would I attack her?” Trump asked, according to two sources with knowledge of his remarks. Rather than lashing out in anger or defensiveness, Trump said Monday he’d like to “see a complete process.” “I’d like everybody to be very happy. Most importantly, I want the American people to be happy, because they’re getting somebody that is great,” he said. Aides have noted that the President’s measured response is partly because the allegation isn’t against him. During the 2016 campaign, at least 15 women accused Trump of misbehavior ranging from sexual harassment and sexual assault to lewd behavior around women. They came forward in the wake of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape that was released in October 2016 in which he is caught bragging on a hot mic about being able to sexually assault women. The White House – through press secretary Sarah Sanders and others – has dismissed all the allegations against him as old news that had been litigated during the campaign. Trump is not personally close with Kavanaugh but enjoys touting his credentials.