Five lies and and false facts from Trump's first press conference in 587 days

Fact checking the president's second solo press conference

Donald Trump’s second solo press conference as president — and his first in 587 days — was filled with inconsistencies, contradictions and flat out falsities.

The president’s wide-ranging conference arrived amid fresh scandals stemming from the White House, including his anti-globalism speech at the United Nations General Assembly this week and his embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who faces numerous accusations of sexual misconduct that he has denied.

Mr Trump touted his 2016 campaign victory in the roughly 80 minute discussion with reporters, while providing a full-throated defence for Mr Kavanaugh and himself from sexual assault accusations. He also repeated his criticisms of his predecessor, appeared to make up a nonexistent meeting that was never planned with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

While fact checkers have spotted numerous other issues in Mr Trump’s latest conference, what follows are five major false claims the president made on Wednesday afternoon.

Donald Trump claimed to reject a one-on-one meeting with the Canadian prime minister that never existed.

When asked whether he declined a meeting with Mr Trudeau, the president responded, “Yeah, I did.”

The problem? No meeting was ever scheduled, requested or even existed. A press representative for the prime minister confirmed in an email to NBC News on Thursday night that a meeting between the two world leaders was never requested.

The president falsely claimed he received the majority of the female vote in 2016.

Mr Trump has frequently celebrated his election victory in the years since he assumed the Oval Office, often providing fake data and information about the votes cast across the country, including the unfounded claim that over three million undocumented immigrants voted in 2016.

On Thursday, the president said, “I got 52 per cent with women. Everyone said this couldn’t happen.”

In fact, he only received 42 per cent of the female vote in 2016. What the president may be referring to is white women alone; he received 53 per cent of the vote from the demographic, the highest level of support among any female voting bloc.

Mr Trump criticised Barack Obama for not being “big on picking judges”.

The president and Republican Party have continued their attempts to look over the fact that Mr Obama selected a Supreme Court nominee who was blocked throughout the final year of his second term.

According to Mr Trump on Thursday, his predecessor “wasn’t big on picking judges. When I got here I said, ‘How was this possible?’ They just didn’t do it”.

“They got tired,” he added, “they got complacent.”

Not true: The Republican Party blocked countless nominees during Mr Obama’s tenure, not just Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. By the time Mr Trump arrived to Washington, Republicans successfully left 103 court vacancies for the president.

The president provided incorrect numbers about the new American embassy in Jerusalem.

Mr Trump claimed the embassy was opened under his orders “in four months, for less than $500,00,” adding, “the budget was over a billion dollars”.

“So we saved, let’s say, a billion dollars,” he added.

The claims are greatly exaggerated, however, since the embassy remains under construction from well before its celebrated opening, which included appearances from the first family.

According to numerous reports, the embassy is expected to cost over $500,000. Moreover, NBC News reported the State Department has already provided an estimated $21m in contracts to continue renovations.

Mr Trump appeared to vastly reduce the number of women who have accused him of sexual assault.

In a tense moment during his press conference, the president attempted to defend Mr Kavanaugh by discussing his own sexual assault accusations.

Mr Trump claimed “four or five women” made “stuff up about me,” alleging his accusers provided false statements to the press to undermine his chances at the White House.

However, at least 13 women stepped forward to accuse Mr Trump of sexual misconduct, many of them corroborated by witnesses. Several reports, including one from The Guardian, allege the total count is closer to 20.