Washington: President Donald Trump is likely to nominate a female candidate to the US Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
"I will be putting forth a nominee next week. I could say most likely it would be a woman. I think I can say that. If somebody were to ask me now I would say that a woman would be in first place," Trump told supporters at an election rally in North Carolina on Saturday.
Ginsburg, a history-making jurist, feminist icon and a champion of women's rights and social justice, died of cancer on Friday. She was 87.
She was the second woman ever to serve as a justice on the nation's highest court.
Trump said he is within his rights to fill the vacancy in the US Supreme Court.
"We have great respect for the process. This has happened numerous times and every time there was a nominee as you know. There's been many occasions where frankly it turned out to be during a presidential year," he told reporters. In an election year, so far, 29 supreme court judges have been nominated.
"I think we're going to start the process extremely soon. We will have a nominee very soon," he said.
During the rally, Trump asked the supporters whether the nominee should be a man or a woman. The crowds cheered loudly for a female candidate.
"That's a very accurate poll (crowd reaction) because that's the way I feel. I actually like women much more than I like men. I have to say. It would be a women. A very talented, very intelligent women," the president said, adding that a final name had not been zeroed in on.
