Why Trump May Actually Be Trying to Sabotage Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court Nomination

Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court hangs on a knife's edge, and President Donald Trump isn't helping. On Tuesday night, he decided to lash out and mock Christine Blasey Ford, one of the women who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, mocking her for her memory lapses. Many Republicans called Trump out for this contemptible behavior.

Why would Trump act this way when its so clearly a bad move for his nominee?

Two guests on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" with Nicolle Wallace suggested a surprising answer: Maybe Trump wants Kavanaugh's nomination to fail.

"We expect a certain level of behavior when he's in his element and he's talking to all the Whos in Whoville, okay?" said Mike Lupica, MSNBC contributor. "But he did cross a line last night. And sometimes he says so many boneheaded things on this subject — I'm wondering if he's made some calculation that it might help him if Kavanaugh doesn't get confirmed."

There's some evidence Trump and a few of his allies, including Donald Trump Jr., think this way, as they have clearly been stoking up the idea that Kavanaugh — and thus the president — is a sympathetic victim in all this. And it's harder to play the victim if the nomination is successful.

"I certainly think it could help Donald Trump if Kavanaugh doesn't get confirmed because he's a 'victim,'" agreed Elise Jordan, a Time columnist. "That's his number one message — about his own victimhood. And, 'The elites did this to me, this is what they're trying to do you. They're out to get you.' So yes, I do think that he might not be Brett Kavanaugh's best friend right now because he's blowing up the strategy to actually get him on the court."

Watch the clip below: