From new immigration order to fake news: 5 key takeaways from Donald Trump's press conference

"Tomorrow, they will say: 'Donald Trump rants and raves at the press,'" US President Donald Trump said on Thursday. "I'm not ranting and raving. I'm just telling you. You know, you're dishonest people. But I'm not ranting and raving. I love this. I'm having a good time doing it."

In an impromptu 77-minute long White House news conference on Thursday, Trump sought to cast problems buffeting the White House as "the mess" he inherited from former Democratic President Barack Obama and boasted about the "fine-tuned administration" he is running.

Here are the key takeaways from his news conference:

New immigration order

Trump said he will issue a new executive order to replace his controversial directive suspending travel to the United States by citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries. The US President said that the new order would seek to address concerns raised by federal appeals court judges, who temporarily blocked his original travel ban. "The new order is going to be very much tailored to what I consider to be a very bad decision," Trump said, adding: "We had a bad court." 

Trump gave no details about the replacement order. Legal experts said a new directive would have a better chance of withstanding courtroom scrutiny if it covered some non-Muslim countries and exempted non-citizen immigrants living in the US legally.

Attacking the press

Trump slammed the global financial daily The Wall Street Journal for its "disgraceful" reporting on American intelligence community.

In its lead story, the daily said that the intelligence community was keeping its top secret information away from Trump, fearing that it might be leaked. "The officials' decision to keep information from Mr Trump underscores the deep mistrust that has developed between the intelligence community and the President over his team's contacts with the Russian Government, as well as the enmity he has shown towards US spy agencies," the report said.

"(The) Wall Street Journal did a story today that was almost as disgraceful as the failing New York Time's story," Trump told reporters. "I'll tell you something, I'll be honest, because I sort of enjoy this back and forth that I guess I have all my life but I've never seen more dishonest media than frankly, the political media. I thought the financial media was much better, much more honest," Trump said.

"But I will say that, I never get phone calls from the media. How did they write a story like that in The Wall Street Journal without asking me or how did they write a story in The New York Times, put it on front page?" he asked.

On intelligence leaks

Trump publicly vented out his anger and frustration at the leaks of classified information including his own conversation with some of the top leaders of the world. He said the information about his conversation with heads of States of Mexico and Australia was leaked which prompted him to demand the resignation of his national security advisor Michael Flynn. 

"All this information gets put into the Washington Post and gets put into the New York Times and I'm saying 'what's going to happen when I'm dealing on the Middle East? What's going to happen when I'm dealing with really, really important subjects like North Korea? We got to stop it. That's why it's a criminal penalty," Trump said.

Trump said might take the services of New York billionaire Stephen Feinberg, co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, to review American intelligence agencies and the leaks flowing out of them which have fuelled a string of damaging news reports on his administration.

The renewed focus on tracking down leaks comes following national security advisor Michael Flynn's resignation amid reports that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about a phone call with a Russian diplomat. Flynn's alleged deception was revealed by leaks. While Trump apparently sought Flynn's resignation, the episode swiftly rekindled the president's feud with the intelligence community. 

Links with Russia and Flynn's resignation

Trump dismissed a growing controversy about ties between his aides and Russia on Thursday as a "ruse" and "scam" perpetrated by a hostile news media, and denied any of his associates had contacts with Moscow before last year's election.

Trump also said he had not directed his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, to talk to Russia's ambassador about US sanctions before taking office. Trump said he had asked the Justice Department to look into the leaks of "classified information that was given illegally" to journalists regarding the relationship between his aides and Russia.

When asked by journalists of contacts between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives, he deflected the questions and put the focus instead on what he described as "illegal" government leaks and "dishonest" media coverage. "The press is out of control," he said. "The level of dishonesty is out of control."

After weeks of disclosures in newspapers over turmoil in his administration, he told one reporter to "sit down" for a rambling question. "The leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake," Trump said.

Pressed by reporters about whether he was aware if any member of his presidential campaign team had contacts with Russia before the election, the Republican president said: "Nobody that I know of."

Trump, who took office on Jan. 20 and has voiced support for improved ties with Russia, added he personally had no business deals in that country. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that phone call records and intercepted calls showed members of Trump's presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the November 8 election in which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"What he (Flynn) did wasn't wrong," Trump told the news conference. "Mike was doing his job. He was calling countries and his counterparts. So, it certainly would have been OK with me if he did it. ... I didn't direct him, but I would have directed him because that's his job," Trump said. 

"I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia. I have no loans in Russia. I don't have any deals in Russia," Trump said. "I have nothing to do with Russia, haven't made a phone call to Russia in years, don't speak to people from Russia. Not that I wouldn't. I just have nobody to speak to," Trump said.

Good relations with Russia

"It would be great if we could get along with Russia, just so you understand that. Now tomorrow, you'll say Donald Trump wants to get along with Russia, this is terrible. It's not terrible. It's good," Trump told reporters. He was responding to a series of questions on some of the recent provocative behaviour of Russia.

Asked if Putin was testing him, Trump said he did not think so. "No, I don't think so. I think Putin probably assumes that he can't make a deal with me anymore because politically it would be unpopular for a politician to make a deal. I can't believe I'm saying I'm a politician, but I guess that's what I am now. It would be much easier for me to be tough on Russia, but then we're not going to make a deal," Trump said.

Trump said he wanted to do right thing for the world. "To be honest, secondarily, I want to do the right thing for the world. If Russia and the United States actually got together and got along - and don't forget, we're a very powerful nuclear country and so are they. There's no up-side. And anybody that ever read the most basic book can say it, nuclear holocaust would be like no other," Trump said. "They're a very powerful nuclear country and so are we. If we have a good relationship with Russia, believe me, that's a good thing, not a bad thing," Trump said.

Anti-semitism

In one unusual exchange near the end of the news conference, Trump called on a questioner, asking if he was "a friendly reporter." When the journalist asked about recent threats to 48 Jewish centers across the country and signs of rising anti-Semitism, Trump appeared to take the question personally, replying: "I am the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life."

He added he was also the "least racist person," told the reporter to be "quiet," accused him of lying and then dismissed the question as "insulting."

On First Lady Melania

Trump said his wife Melania will work on women's issues and "difficulties" facing women as First Lady. Trump said Melania was a "strong advocate" for women's issues and feels "very strongly" about it. "I think that Melania's going to be outstanding," Trump told reporters at a White House news conference when asked about the First Lady, who he claimed, has been treated unfairly by the media. 

"She like others that she's working with feels very, very strongly about women's issues, women's difficulties. She's a very, very strong advocate. I think she's a great representative for this country," he said.

"I think, she is going to be a fantastic first Lady. She is going to be a tremendous representative of women and of the people," he said, adding that his daughter Ivanka would also be working on the same issue.

With Reuters and AFP inputs.