US President Donald Trump has been forced to backtrack after making claims about phone calls that the other party denies even happened.
The former real estate tycoon got himself into a muddle after an interview with the Wall Street Journal, in which he claimed the head of the Boy Scouts called him to tell him his address at a jamboree last month was the "greatest speech".
The July 26 speech was widely panned after he spoke at length about politics to young boys, attacked media and fellow politicians, and described himself as the "honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America" despite having never been a scout.
He also made a bizarre promise to bring back the phrase 'Merry Christmas' after it was changed to 'Happy Holidays' to be more inclusive to other religions, as well as the non-religious.
In the interview, President Trump also claimed he spoke with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who allegedly told him that there were fewer people crossing the border into the US under his tenure.
Both the boy scout leader he referred to and President Nieto denied they were involved in phone calls with Mr Trump about the subjects he claimed to have spoken to them about.
When asked why President Trump had misled reporters by making the false statements, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders insinuated it was just a slip of the tongue.
"On Mexico, he was referencing the conversation they had had at the G20 Summit where they had specifically talked about the issues that he referenced," she explained.
"In terms of the Boys Scouts, multiple members of the boys scouts leadership following his speech that day congratulated him, praised him, and offered quite powerful compliments - and that's what those references were about.
"They were direct conversations not actual phone calls. I wouldn't say it was a lie. That's a pretty bold accusation."
The President has not addressed the comments himself.
Newshub.
