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President Donald Trump has told reporters that it is a “difficult” and “scary” time for young men in the US.
Mr Trump’s remarks came as he reiterated his support for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who is currently facing sexual misconduct allegations by several women.
A vote to confirm Mr Kavanaugh has been delayed as the FBI investigates the claims, which he denies.
Mr Trump said he believed the Senate would approve the judge.
His appointment would be a major victory for Mr Trump’s administration as it would tilt the country’s top court in favour of conservatives for years to come.
Mr Trump was speaking to reporters at the White House amid recriminations by opposition Democrats and his Republicans over the nomination.
Republicans accuse Democrats of seeking to delay a vote until after the mid-term elections, in the hope that they will win control of Congress and derail Mr Kavanaugh’s appointment.
Democrats say they should not be rushed into a vote and the FBI should be allowed all the time to investigate all allegations against Mr Kavanaugh.
The president has said he wants the inquiry to be over this week.
What is Mr Kavanaugh accused of?
Judge Kavanaugh denies the claims of his accusers:
- Psychology lecturer Prof Christine Blasey Ford, the first woman to come forward, says he tried to remove her clothing, pinned her to a bed and covered her mouth at a house party in 1982, when she was 15 and he was 17
- Deborah Ramirez, a student at Yale at the same time as him, says he exposed himself to her during a college drinking game
- Julie Swetnick says she went to house parties attended by him in the early 1980s, where she said he and his friends had tried to “spike” girls’ drinks
Mr Kavanaugh and Prof Ford gave public testimony before the Senate judiciary committee last Friday.
What is Mr Trump’s complaint about?
In his remarks on Tuesday, Mr Trump criticised Prof Ford’s testimony.
“It’s a tough thing going on if you can be an exemplary person for 35 years and somebody comes and they say, ‘you did this or that’, and they give three witnesses and the three witnesses at this point do not corroborate what she was saying.
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“My whole life I’ve heard, ‘you’re innocent until proven guilty’, but now you’re guilty until proven innocent. That’s a very, very difficult standard.
“It’s a very scary time for young men in America when you can be guilty of something that you may not be guilty of,” Mr Trump told reporters.
The president repeatedly said in response to questions about his top court pick that he was waiting to see what would come out of the FBI investigation and did not want to “interrupt” anything.
The president’s comments come amid the one year anniversary of the #MeToo movement.
The public uproar around last week’s hearings has highlighted the impact the viral campaign against sexual harassment has played in the Kavanaugh proceedings.
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A poll by Quinnipiac University, conducted Thursday through Sunday, found 48% of Americans opposed Judge Kavanaugh and 42% supported him.
The same poll also saw differences along gender lines: 47% of men polled believed the judge while 55% of women believed Prof Ford.
What’s likely to happen at the vote?
The Republican party’s narrow 51-49 majority means if all Democratic senators vote against the nominee, Republicans can only afford one defection.
In that instance, Vice-President Mike Pence has the casting vote, and would go in Judge Kavanaugh’s favour.
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The FBI investigation was launched at the urging of Republican Senators Jeff Flake, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.