Trump says his past accusers influence his thinking on Kavanaugh

"I think a lot of leaders actually stayed away a year ago because they were afraid of getting caught somehow between not wanting to offend President Trump, but not wanting to do anything with President Trump [that] would get them in trouble with the voters at home", Alterman said.

Numerous reporters' questions focused on developments from his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly and on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who is facing multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.

US President Donald Trump has again claimed that his predecessor Barack Obama was close to starting a war with North Korea, saying that if he "wasn't elected, there would have been a war".

"These are false - to me - these are all false accusation in certain cases, and in certain cases, even the media agrees with that", he said.

Trump told reporters he'd be watching closely on Thursday as Kavanaugh and one of his accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, deliver public testimony. "We are standing up for America and the American people, and we are also standing up for the world".

"I only say this: 36 years, no charge, no nothing".

But Suga also said he would refrain from disclosing what the two foreign ministers discussed.

After initially showing caution with the accusations against Kavanaugh, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated, viewing the process as a political plot against his efforts to advance a long-sought conservative makeover of the high court.

"Further increase of sanctions goes beyond cutting off financing of banned missile and nuclear programmes, and is in fact a threat to North Korean citizens and would bring extreme socio-economic and humanitarian suffering", said Lavrov, who added that the Security Council should send a clear signal in support of the positive momentum on the Korean peninsula.

He added: "It's possible that I'll hear that and I'll say I'm changing my mind".

Trump began what was billed by his top aides as a major foreign policy address targeting Iran and setting the stage for new talks with North Korea by touting what he sees as top domestic accomplishments.

Pushed to acknowledge the cultural moment, Trump repeatedly returned to the idea that qualified men would lose out on jobs because of allegations.

The remarks left many people on Twitter puzzled.

Ms Ford has claimed that Mr Kavanaugh tried to remove her clothes and clamped a hand over her mouth at a party when both were in high school.

Another woman came forward over the weekend, telling The New Yorker magazine that Kavanaugh exposed himself and caused her to touch his penis at a party when both were Yale freshmen. He grew animated when asked about Kavanaugh's nomination and his second accuser, Deobrah Ramirez, who has alleged sexual misconduct by the judge when they were in college.

"It's happened to me many times", he said, citing "four or five women" who "got paid a lot of money" to make those allegations.

Kavanaugh dismissed the allegations as "ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone" in a statement issued by the White House.

Trump said he rejected a one-on-one meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the United Nations because he's annoyed by the country's trade negotiations.