Trump says he's 'a hundred percent' certain that Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford named the wrong person

Associated Press/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

President Donald Trump talks on the tarmac to members of the media during his arrival at Topeka Regional Airport, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018 in Topeka, Kan.

• President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday he was "a hundred percent" certain that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's accuser named the wrong man.
• Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate that she was certain Kavanaugh was her alleged attacker.
• Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court on Saturday by a razor-thin margin, and was sworn in as an associate justice later that evening.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Saturday he was "a hundred percent" certain that Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, had got the wrong man.

Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a razor-thin margin Saturday afternoon, securing 50 votes in the Senate. He was sworn in later that evening in a private ceremony.

"This is one of the reasons I chose him is because there is no one with a squeaky clean past like Brett Kavanaugh. He is an outstanding person and I'm very honored to have chosen him," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to a campaign rally in Topeka, Kansas.

The notion that Ford had mistaken Kavanaugh for a different attacker has been a common one among conservative circles.

Weeks ago, Ed Whelan, a former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia and former Justice Department official, floated the idea in a widely panned and since-deleted Twitter thread that Ford may have mixed up Kavanaugh with one of his classmates.

He later apologized for identifying the classmate, calling his tweets "an appalling and inexcusable mistake of judgment."

Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who provided a critical "yes" vote for Kavanaugh on Saturday, also endorsed the mistaken-identity theory.

"I do not believe that Brett Kavanaugh was her assailant," Collins told CNN's Dana Bash in an interview that will air Sunday. "I do believe that she was assaulted. I don't know by whom. I'm not certain when."

Ford has attempted to shoot down that theory multiple times. During her testimony before the Senate more than a week ago, Ford told Sen. Dianne Feinstein she was certain Kavanaugh was her attacker in "the same way that I'm sure that I'm talking to you right now."

She also told The Washington Post there was "zero chance" she had confused Kavanaugh with his classmate.