Flanders, Whitehouse trade jabs in televised debate

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In a fast-paced hour on Tuesday night, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and his Republican challenger, former state Supreme Court Justice Robert Flanders, traded jabs while answering questions from WPRI-TV’s investigative reporter Tim White and political/economic reporter Ted Nesi.

It was the first televised debate between the Rhode Island candidates for U.S. Senate, broadcast on Channel 12.

Flanders sharpened his points with wordplay, quickly putting Whitehouse, a two-term incumbent, on the defensive. The senator’s approach during U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing was one of “political flatulence,” Flanders said, referring to Whitehouse cross-examining Kavanaugh on entries in Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook and its references to flatulence and ralphing.

In his defense, Whitehouse said he heard “immensely positive” feedback about his efforts to disqualify Kavanaugh on character grounds. He also cast Flanders as opposing an FBI investigation into allegations of attempted rape decades ago. Whitehouse landed the point that President Donald Trump had instructed the FBI to find no corroborating evidence.

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