Avenatti, wanting to fight Trump, takes some hits

Michael Avenatti wanted a fight. Now he has one.

The hard-charging attorney, best known for moving adult-star movie Stormy Daniels, has pegged his 2020 ambitions on what he describes as his unique ability to bring a fight to President Donald Trump.

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On Thursday, he was taking hits on two fronts.

Avenatti sparked a furor after he was quoted in Time magazine saying that the Democratic presidential nominee to battle Trump "better be a white male."

On the same day, the Senate Judiciary Committee referred Avenatti and his client Julie Swetnick to the Justice Department for an investigation over charges against Brett Kavanaugh, then Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court.

Avenatti dismissed the article, saying he was taken out of context. And he framed the committee as welcome news, calling it "Christmas in October."

"I think it's better," he said, quoting the presidential appointment. "When you have a white male making the arguments, they carry more weight. Should they carry more weight? Absolutely not. But do they? Yes. "

On Thursday, Avenatti emphatically stepped away from the remarks.

"It's a f — contempt," he told POLITICO of the Time article. "I was misquoted and taken out of context."

Avenatti said his speech in the face of crowds in the past few days have been interpreted.

"Anybody who has seen any of my speeches would know to call me males for not doing their part," said Avenatti. "And I say that especially white males and women, and they can not do it alone. I usually get standing ovations for it. That's what I meant, I've been applauded for it. … I'm not going to have people turn this into something that it's not. "

Still, the remarks reads the Twittersphere, prompting a backlash from the left and leaving the right euphoric.

"This man is a clown," activist Shaun King tweeted. "He's Better Call Saul. And now we are learning he's also a sexist bigot. "

Later Thursday, Time published with full exchange with Avenatti, putting the discussion into context. In the published exchange, Avenatti lays out his argument for a woman would face challenges that men would not encounter against Trump.

"Women face a very, very difficult time when they run for office, especially against a guy like Donald Trump. Okay? If they do not hit hard enough, they're soft, right? And if they hit back with the same force as a man, they're classified as a bitch, right? Which is entirely unfair to women. And that's a very fine line for a woman to walk. And it's a line that a man does not have to walk. And, again, that's not right. It should not be that way. But it's a very, very difficult walk. "

The day marked perhaps the biggest setback for Avenatti, even after clawing through a turbulent six months in which he's gone to war with the president and taken his share of beatings from conservatives.

The trial attorney has long been a champion to women and to immigrants.

It could prove to be defining for it: It has gotten away as the Democrats' answer to Trump, but it can slide out of controversies the same way remains to be seen.

Avenatti seemed to employ his megaphone in a timely manner, pivoting from the remarks later in the day to blasting Sen. Chuck Grassley and Republicans for trying to intimidate his client.

".@ChuckGrassley – let's start the investigation tonight, "he wrote on Twitter. "I will make my client available for a sworn interview and you can make Judge Kavanaugh available for a sworn interview. We also have other comments we want requested. Let's go. "

The tweet came out of his "white male" remarks, and within 10 minutes it was retweeted nearly 5,000 times.

Avenatti has repeatedly painted himself as a true fighter in a crowd of potential presidential candidates, saying that even if he would not make the better president, no one who has stepped forward so trump.

Avenatti has taken concrete steps towards exploring a presidential run, and has held meetings with Democratic Party leaders. He recently launched The Fight PAC, and he is supporting.

He was accused of bringing a Kavanaugh hearings after his client, Swetnick, allegedly Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge were present where they got drunk teenage girls and where "gang rapes" occurred. On Thursday, Grassley Referred Avenatti and Swetnick to the Justice Department for an investigation into two statements.

Though Avenatti's involvement in the Kavanaugh hearings was widely seen on the national stage, the members of the Democratic establishment are reportedly the ley of the lawyer's combative approach to politics. His "white male" comments drew condemnation from liberal quarters.

Critics said that he has been revealed to have been hurt by democratic values. Former National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor took over the role of official leader of the Democratic Party.

"Barack Obama was president for eight years, jackass," Vietor wrote.

Others claimed that Avenatti's was a ploy to seem palatable to white voters.

"Performative White Boy 'Wokeness,' Exhibit 6127742398742384," wrote Jess Morales Rocketto, chairwoman of the Belong Families Together immigrant rights coalition. "Michael Avenatti is not a Democrat, he is an Ambulance Chasing Opportunist."

"Sweetie, no," added Charlotte Clymer, LGBTQ rights activist from the Human Rights Campaign. "I do not support white male supremacy in any form, and that includes using it to pander to bigots for votes. This is beyond ridiculous and cowardly. Good-bye."