The announcement in June by Justice Anthony Kennedy that he would retire from the US Supreme Court handed US President Donald Trump a victory.
It would be his chance to shape America's highest court for years to come.
Justice Kennedy was the swing vote; sometimes siding with liberals, sometimes siding with conservatives but now, Mr Trump would get to tilt the court to the right and reap the rewards at the polls from grateful Republican supporters.
The White House moved quickly to announce Judge Brett Kavanaugh as the nominee and then it was time for his Senate confirmation hearing. Despite lots of protests, days of testimony went well from Judge Kavanaugh's perspective and his confirmation looked assured.
However an allegation of sexual assault raised doubts over Mr Kavanaugh's appointment and delayed the Senate confirmation vote.
College professor Christine Blasey Ford told the Washington Post that Mr Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her at a party in 1982 when she was 15 and he was 17.
Brett Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegation but it had the potential to derail Mr Trump's plan to have his Supreme Court nominee on the bench in time for the new legal term in October.
It was one of those bombshell moments in politics that took many by surprise but what was also surprising was Mr Trump's initial response.
In the past, he has viciously attacked accusers and political opponents. Character assassinations, personal insults and dismissing reports as "fake news" are usually the norm but, at first, it looked like this time would be different.
For days, Mr Trump didn't tweet about the allegation at all. His first post about the matter showed no anger towards the accuser. His criticisms were aimed at the Democrats who he said had sat on the allegation and released it at the last minute to frustrate the nomination process.
He tweeted: "The Supreme Court is one of the main reasons I got elected President. I hope Republican Voters, and others, are watching, and studying, the Democrats Playbook."
Those around Mr Trump also showed understanding and patience following the allegation by Dr Ford. Mr Trump's special adviser Kellyanne Conway said: "She should not be insulted. She should not be ignored. She should testify and she should do it on Capitol Hill."
When reporters got their first chance to ask Mr Trump about the allegation he once again avoided making any negative comments about the accuser. He was calm and measured as he said: "We want to go through a process. We want to make sure everything is perfect, everything is just right."
The Supreme Court is one of the main reasons I got elected President. I hope Republican Voters, and others, are watching, and studying, the Democrats Playbook.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2018
He spoke about not being concerned by a "little delay" because it was important to "hear everybody out".
While there may not have been any criticisms of Dr Ford, there was lots of praise for Judge Brett Kavanaugh. President Trump said he was "...one of the great intellects and one of the finest people that anybody has known. You look at his references - I've never seen anything quite like it."
His view seemed to evolve as the week went on, however, and a few days later he said it was "...very hard for me to imagine that anything happened" but he did say if Dr Ford made a "...credible showing, that will be very interesting and we will have to make a decision".
Later in the week, however, he returned to form and took to Twitter to question the allegation.
For the first time, he used the accuser's name and wrote: "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!"
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
So where did this initial restraint come from? Were we seeing signs of a new, more measured President Trump?
Perhaps what we saw was the dealmaker president doing everything he could to protect one of the biggest deals of his presidency so far - a chance to reshape the Supreme Court for years to come.
Republicans have a very small majority in the Senate and on the Judiciary Committee so Mr Kavanaugh needs every vote, there can be no doubts. Time is also a factor. November's mid-term elections are just weeks away and if there's a change in the Senate arithmetic it could have big implications for the prize of a Supreme Court appointment.
Mr Trump needs to avoid alienating voters ahead of the mid-terms and targeting someone who claims to have been assaulted wouldn't go down well.
The president may be focused on appointing a judge to the top bench, but with an election looming another court also has to be taken into account, the court of public opinion.
