- The Washington Times - Friday, October 12, 2018

Most Americans worry about both men and women — for very different reasons — in the MeToo era, according to a new poll released Friday.

Morning Consult asked more than 2,000 adults if they were more concerned about the threat of sexual assault females face or the potential false allegations that could smear a young man for life.

A majority — 57 percent — of American adults said they are equally concerned about the problems generally facing each gender.

Three of four demographic groups across party lines — Democratic men, Republican women and Democratic women — had a majority who worried about both.

The outlier was Republican men, of whom only 49 percent were equally concerned. Thirty percent of the male Republicans were more concerned about false allegations, more than double any other demographic.

More than 80 percent of all adults said they were concerned when asked about false allegations and sexual assault separately.

First lady Melania Trump captured that opinion a few days ago when she explained her take on the MeToo movement. She said accusers need “hard evidence” when voicing their allegations.

“I support the women, and they need to be heard,” she said in an interview with ABC News. “I do stand with women, but we need to show the evidence.”

The poll, conducted Oct. 4-8, posed the questions at the peak of heated debate over sexual assault allegations against now-confirmed Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.

President Trump sparked a fury of angry responses when he told reporters women are “doing great” but it is a “scary time” to be a man.

Protesters slammed senators who supported the nominee in light of the allegations and promoted the “Believe Women” arm of the MeToo movement.

Supporters of Justice Kavanaugh argued that the allegations were  unsubstantiated, even after an additional FBI investigation.

• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.

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