'Liar-in-Chief' Donald Trump scorned for insisting 'you can't say things that are knowingly false'

Donald Trump has been slammed by disbelieving users online for saying "you can't say things that are knowingly false".

The US president was speaking from prepared notes as he announced a plan to look at the country's libel laws at a White House Cabinet meeting. He said: "Our current libel laws are a sham and a disgrace, and do not represent American values or American fairness.

"So we're going to take a strong look at that. We want fairness. You can't say things that are false, knowingly false, and be able to smile as money pours into your bank account ... I think what the American people want to see is fairness."

People reacted in disbelief after the amount of demonstrably false things Trump has said, which top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway has spun as "alternative facts".

Right after he became president Trump insisted he drew a larger inauguration crowd than Barack Obama's first ceremony in 2009. He claimed there had been massive voter fraud against him, despite no evidence. And he once said he had a full day of meetings when he was in fact playing golf.

In fact, new analysis from the Washington Post found that Trump has made more than 2,000 false or misleading claims since entering office.

Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat congressman for Oregon who sits in the House of Representatives, has called Trump the "Liar in Chief", as there are many more examples of false statements from the president.

The Boston Globe's Matt Viser pointed out two of Trump's biggest false statements: "President Trump, who has said Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States and Ted Cruz's father was behind JFK assassination, says laws should make it harder to say things that are false." Questions were also raised by others about his statements over alleged Russia collusion.

Twitter user Travis Allen, who has obviously upset the president before as he has blocked him on the social network, called Trump the "biggest liar in modern history" following his latest ironic words. He added that Trump would "soon go bankrupt" if tougher libel laws were passed.

Comedian Tommy Campbell said: "Donald Trump saying he wants to take a strong look at libel laws so people cannot say false things is as ridiculous as Melania's anti-bullying campaign and OJ's hunt for the real killers combined."

Others said that saying things that are knowingly false is just "called being Trump" and that Trump would be "hauled through the courts daily" with stricter laws.

See some more of the reaction below.