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As it happenedended

Trump press conference: President claims women were paid to accuse him of sexual misconduct in rambling briefing

News conference follows Mr Trump chairing a meeting of the UN Security Council

Chris Stevenson
New York
,Mythili Sampathkumar
Wednesday 26 September 2018 23:24 BST
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Trump claims women were paid to accuse him in press conference

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Donald Trump has acknowledged that past accusations of sexual misconduct against him mean that he sees accusations against his Supreme Court nominee - Brett Kavanaugh - "differently" than others.

At a rare news conference at the United Nations building in New York, Mr Trump said "had a lot of false charges made against me".

The comments come day before Judge Kavanaugh is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee amid multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. Mr Kavanaugh denies all the allegations against him.

While Mr Trump pledged to listen to the testimony of Mr Kavanaugh's accuser and even said he was open to changing his mind about his nominee, he made clear that he was deeply sceptical of these types of accusations.

"It's happened to me many times," he said, claiming he had been accused - falsely - by "four or five women".

In fact, more than a dozen women came forward during the 2016 campaign, claiming they were assaulted, groped or kissed without consent by Mr Trump. He was also caught on tape in 2005 boasting of grabbing women by their genitals and kissing them without permission.

During the free-wheeling news conference, Mr Trump continued to lash out at Democrats and label the allegations against Mr Kavanaugh politically motivated.

Please allow a few moments for the live blog to load

Press Association

Hello and welcome to our coverage of a rare press conference from President Donald Trump.

Chris Stevenson26 September 2018 21:34

  ↵Mr Trump's press conference comes after the president defended his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh over new sexual misconduct allegations.

Chris Stevenson26 September 2018 21:41

Just ahead of Mr Trump's news conference, he met with British Prime Minister Theresa May and discussed their will to strike a "big and ambitious" trade deal after Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.

"The president and the prime minister began by discussing their mutual desire to form a wide-ranging trade deal," the prime minister's office said in a statement. "They agreed that Brexit provides a wonderful opportunity to strike a big and ambitious UK-US Free Trade Agreement."

Chris Stevenson26 September 2018 21:50

Mr Trump is talking - and he is pontificating on steel product in the US.

That is already having hit out at China amid tit-for-tat tariffs between the two

Chris Stevenson26 September 2018 22:02

The president is complaining about a hike in interest rates in the US today.

He claims it is because they are "doing so well"

Chris Stevenson26 September 2018 22:03

Here come the questions! It has been a long time since Mr Trump has done this.

Chris Stevenson26 September 2018 22:04

First question is on Brett Kavanaugh and whether the FBI should investigate. He pivots to the idea that Democrats are peddling a "con job" in pushing the allegations.

​There is no evidence of that

Chris Stevenson26 September 2018 22:06

He claims Democrats are "heading into a room and laughing" about what has happened to Mr Kavanaugh.

Chris Stevenson26 September 2018 22:06

Mr Trump is now complaining that the accusations were brought up too late "after the hearings" for Mr Kavanaugh.

Chris Stevenson26 September 2018 22:09

"36 years and no charge" says Mr Trump. He makes no mention of the women bringing forward the allegations.

Chris Stevenson26 September 2018 22:10

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