Trump defends 'fantastic' Kavanaugh while calling for Ford to be heard on Thursday

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Donald Trump leaves the White House in September 2018.

• President Donald Trump defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a "fantastic man" in a radio interview broadcast on Monday.

• Trump also doubled down on his belief that the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh are suspect as they were not reported earlier.
• But he also said that Professor Christine Blasey Ford, who is accusing Kavanaugh, should be heard, ahead of her expected testimony on Thursday. "I want her to have her voice," Trump said.
• Trump said that he would not likely be able to convince Democrats to vote for Kavanaugh, which means he would need the support of almost every Republican in the Senate.

President Donald Trump defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a "fantastic man" in a radio interview while calling for Professor Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, to be heard in a testimony.

While Trump said he supported Ford testifying, he reiterated his hope that his nominee will successfully be elected to the Supreme Court. "Hopefully, we'll have a second judge very shortly who is a fantastic, fantastic man, a fantastic talent and intellect, hopefully Brett Kavanaugh will go on to the Supreme Court" Trump said on WTAM radio in an interview with Geraldo Rivera.

The interview was broadcast on Monday morning but was taped before new sexual assault accusations came to light against Kavanaugh.

Trump has been defending Kavanaugh as he faces an allegation from Ford that he pinned her to a bed, groped her, and put his hands over her mouth when they were at a high-school party in the 1980s. On Monday, Trump doubled down on his belief that the allegations are suspect because they were not reported earlier.

"This went 36 years without a complaint, 36 years Geraldo… and this never came up."

Yet Trump said he was in favor of Ford testifying publicly.

"I want her to have her voice," he said. "Let her have her voice, let her say whatever she has to say. Let him say what he has to say and that in the end the senators will make a choice."

Ford is expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has been accused attempted to rape Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in the 1980s. He has denied the allegation.

Trump said that he would probably not be able to convince Democrats to vote for Kavanaugh, which means he would need the support of almost every Republican in the Senate.

"We'll get almost no Democrat," he said. "We may get a couple in states where I won by many, many points - you understand that - but we'll essentially get no Democrat."

New allegations against Kavanaugh have come to light since. A New Yorker story on Sunday described an investigation by Senate Democrats into whether Kavanaugh exposed himself to, and assaulted, a woman in college on Sunday.

Lawyer and activist Michael Avenatti also said he had a client that alleges Kavanaugh, in high school, tried to use drugs and alcohol to rape women.