President Trump casts doubt on Kavanaugh accuser, saying it's 'hard to imagine' that 'anything happened'

President Trump cast doubt on sexual assault claims made against his Supreme Court nominee Wednesday, but said Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser deserves to be heard.

“I really would want to see what she has to say,” Trump said as he left the White House en route to the Carolinas. “I want to give it all the time they need. They’ve already given it time. They've delayed a major hearing.”

Trump called Kavanaugh an "outstanding man" and says it's "very hard" for him to imagine anything happened.

California college professor Christine Blasey Ford claims a drunken Kavanaugh violently assaulted her while the two were teenagers. Kavanaugh has denied Ford's allegations.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a public hearing for Monday and has invited Kavanaugh and Ford to testify regarding her allegation against him.

While Ford's attorneys say she wants the FBI to investigate her allegation before she testifies, Trump said that her credibility rests on an appearance.

“If she shows up, that would be wonderful,” he said. “If she doesn’t show up, that would be unfortunate.

If she shows up and makes a credible showing, that'll be very interesting, and we'll have to make a decision, but, I can only say this, he’s such an outstanding man, it’s very hard for me to imagine that anything happened,” he added.

Trump, himself no stranger to accusations of sexual misconduct, rejected the idea of asking the FBI to reopen its background investigation into Kavanaugh.

He also expressed sympathy for his nominee.

"I feel so badly for him that he's going through this, to be honest with you, I feel so badly for him," Trump said Tuesday. “This is not a man that deserves this.”