*** Trump calls US journalist 'a sleaze' at press conference | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Trump calls US journalist 'a sleaze' at press conference

Washington: Donald Trump on Tuesday called an American journalist "a sleaze" during a combative press conference in which he defended his record on supporting veterans, saying he raised $5.6 million for charities on the campaign trail.

"You're a sleaze," said the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, pointing to a journalist who he said was from news network ABC, "because you know the facts and you know the facts well."

Trump called the political press "among the most dishonest people I have ever met," and criticized media coverage of his presidential campaign in general and his appearance at a veterans biker rally on Sunday.

The New York real estate tycoon annihilated more than a dozen rivals in the race to sew up the Republican nomination for the White House and is trailing Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by just a few percentage points in recent polls ahead of November's general election.