UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The Latest on the United Nations General Assembly (all times local):
5:50 p.m.
President Donald Trump says the numerous accusations of sexual assault that have been made against him over the years affect the way he views allegations against other men, including his Supreme Court pick.
Trump says at a New York news conference that he views such accusations “differently” because he’s “had a lot of false charges made against me.”
Here are his own words: “It’s happened to me many times.”
Trump says he’d been accused – falsely – by “four or five women” who “got paid a lot of money” to made those charges.
More than a dozen women came forward during the 2016 presidential campaign, claiming they were assaulted, groped or kissed without consent by Trump. There’s no evidence most were paid.
Also during the campaign, a videotape from 2005 was released on which Trump was heard boasting of grabbing women by their genitals and kissing them without permission.
5:40 p.m.
President Donald Trump is insisting he has evidence that China is attempting to meddle in the U.S. midterm elections.
At a news conference Wednesday in New York, a reporter asked Trump what evidence he has to back up the accusation, which China has denied.
He says he can’t disclose what evidence he has, but that it will come out. He says his allegation did not come “out of nowhere.”
The Trump administration says China is stepping up covert and overt activities to stifle free speech, punish those who support the president’s tough trade stance against China and interfere in the U.S. political system.
The administration says China is hurting farmers and workers in pro-Trump states and districts.
According to Trump, China has “actually admitted that they’re going after farmers.”
5:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he would “certainly prefer not” to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and says he may delay a highly anticipated meeting with him.
Trump said Wednesday that Rosenstein denied making remarks attributed to him in a New York Times report, including that Rosenstein discussed secretly recording Trump last year.
Trump and Rosenstein had been scheduled to meet Thursday.
Trump says he may postpone that meeting because he is focused on an extraordinary Senate committee hearing set for the same day with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and a woman who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault.
5:25 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he’s open to changing his mind on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh – if the evidence at Thursday’s Senate committee hearing is compelling.
Trump says at a news conference in New York that he’ll watch the testimony from Kavanaugh and a woman who’s accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
The president was asked about whether he might be persuaded to withdraw Kavanaugh’s nomination. Trump said: “If I thought he was guilty of something like this … yeah, sure.”
Trump is calling Kavanaugh was “one of the highest quality people” he’s ever met. The president insists the accusations are false and he’s accusing Democrats of playing politics.
5:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump is trumpeting his efforts to rewrite the nation’s trade deals as he kicks off a press conference in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Trump is talking up news that the U.S. and Japan will open negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement.
And he’s touting the deal he signed with South Korea earlier this week.
Trump is also repeating his claims that China is trying to meddle in the upcoming midterm elections because they oppose his tough trade policies.
He says, “they would like to see me lose an election because they’ve never been challenged like this.”
Trump is addressing a roomful of hundreds of reporters from U.S. and international media organizations in a sweltering hotel ballroom.
