Gail Collins: Bret, we’ve had such a wild week, and soon I’ll ask you about all things Trumpian. But first, any thoughts on the Supreme Court? Are you a Brett Kavanaugh fan or foe?

Bret Stephens: I’m a fan. For starters, we Brets need to stick together, whether it’s one T or two.

Gail: Two seems a little excessive. Like he’s trying to drive home a point.

Bret: My general principle is that presidents are entitled to their Supreme Court picks, provided the nominee is intellectually qualified. That’s one of the things presidential elections are about. That’s why I supported President Barack Obama’s picks, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, irrespective of my ideological differences with them. And it’s why I didn’t support Harriet Miers, the unqualified nominee George W. Bush picked in 2005 and was soon forced to drop.

Kavanaugh has been a highly regarded judge on the second-highest federal court for a dozen years. The American Bar Association unanimously agreed he was “well qualified” to serve. He should be confirmed 100-0.

Gail: Sorry, the theory about president-gets-to-pick was demolished by Mitch McConnell in 2016 when he refused to allow President Obama’s nominee, the totally qualified Merrick Garland, to even come up for a vote — or even, really, a discussion. In fact McConnell bragged that telling the president “you will not fill the Supreme Court vacancy” was one of the proudest days of his life.

Bret: The GOP’s refusal to consider Judge Garland’s nomination was a disgrace. No argument from me there. Although I would point out that the hyper-politicization of these confirmation hearings began in 1987 with the disgraceful Democratic mistreatment of Robert Bork, the Reagan nominee who should have been confirmed. Sorry, please continue.

Gail: Brett Kavanaugh seems to be a competent jurist, but there’s every reason to believe that if he’s on the bench he’ll vote to limit abortion rights. That’s a very big deal to me. And it should be for people like Susan Collins, whose reputation as a champion of reproductive rights is absolutely going to go down the drain if she votes for this nominee.

Bret: I honestly don’t believe that Kavanaugh will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Democrats said the same thing about Anthony Kennedy when Ronald Reagan nominated him in 1987, yet he ended up being one of the justices (along with the Republican appointees David Souter and Sandra Day O’Connor) who reaffirmed the central holdings of Roe in the Casey decision. I’m confident Kavanaugh will respect 45 years of abortion precedent even if he’s more traditionally conservative on other issues.

Gail: So, we’ve got a disagreement! Doesn’t happen all that often these days, what with the big guy in the White House bringing liberals and conservatives together in bipartisan gaping horror. There’s been some feeling that this last week was the beginning of the end for Trump, but I see no evidence whatsoever that anybody in his party who’s planning to run for re-election is prepared to call him out. What do you think happens next?

Bret: I suspect we are going to move into a more acute phase of White House paranoia. Richard Nixon comparisons seem apt, if a little unfair to our 37th president.

Gail: Yeah, amazing how we’re suddenly getting nostalgic for Richard Nixon. Sure, he had his faults, but at least he didn’t tweet.

Bret: The threat to turn the Justice Department loose on our editorial pages because of the Op-Ed article we published by an anonymous senior administration official is the sort of thuggish tactic Tricky Dick might have fantasized about. (Say what you will about the Pentagon Papers, they were actual secrets being revealed there, not the common knowledge of every sane person in Washington.)

Again, it’s depressing that the Republican reaction has been to denounce The Times or accuse the author of treason or cowardice, rather than acknowledge the simple truth of the situation. But anyway … who do you think it is?

Gail: I’m so glad I don’t know because I am terrible with secrets. I do love all the speculation about Mike Pence and “lodestar,” though. Do you think the president’s going to take Pence up on that lie detector offer? Or tell Jeff Sessions to tap his phones?

By the way, about Jeff Sessions. A lot of people feel that even though he was a weasel throughout his career, they’re glad he’s attorney general right now. I know you’re definitely not a fan, so what’s your take?

Bret: I think Sessions should lie in the flea-ridden bed he’s made with the president. He was the first senator to endorse Trump and now he’s getting exactly what he deserves.

— Gail Collins and Bret Stephens are columnists for The New York Times.