Donald Trump says it is legal for him to use White House for Republican nomination speech

US President Donald Trump answers question during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Credit: AFP

President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his suggestion of giving a speech from the White House accepting the Republican Party's presidential nomination after lawmakers and ethicists said it was inappropriate and possibly illegal to use a nonpartisan, public site as a venue for a political address.

"Well, it is legal," Trump said when asked about his speech plans at a press briefing, arguing that the Hatch Act prohibiting leaders from trading on public goods for political gains does not apply to him. "If I use the White House, we save tremendous amounts of money for the government in terms of security, travelling."