World News: OnPolitics Today: Trump denies knowledge of Stormy Daniels payment

with Joshua Hafner

OnPolitics Today: Trump denies knowledge of Stormy Daniels payment - a legal misstep?

President Trump talks with reporters aboard Air Force

President Trump broke 11 days of silence on Stormy Daniels Thursday, denying he knew about his lawyer's $130,000 payment to keep the adult film star quiet about her alleged affair with Trump. A week and a half after Daniels detailed her claims on 60 Minutes, Trump told reporters he knew not where the money came from, nor why his lawyer would have made such a payment.

"You'll have to ask Michael Cohen," Trump said aboard Air Force One. "Michael is my attorney. You'll have to ask Michael."

Trump's words Thursday could bring legal blowback for Cohen. If Cohen made the payment with his own funds - as he has claimed - but without Trump's knowledge, the payment could amount to an illegal contribution to Trump's campaign.

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Mexico's president to Trump: Tone down the border talk

A day after Trump signed an order to deploy National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexico's president entreated Trump to to tone down "that negative rhetoric " and enter constructive negotiations. Trump has said Mexico's shared border is in a "point of crisis," and on Thursday called for as many as 4,000 troops to guard the border for a indefinite time. It may not be so simple: Using U.S. troops for domestic security may not be exactly legal, meaning heavily armed soldiers won't likely be patrolling the Mexican border - despite Trump's wishes.

Amid that tariff feud with China, U.S. trade deficit rises

America's trade deficit creeped upward in February for the sixth month in a row, a blow to Trump's campaign to level out trade between U.S. and other nations. The deficit with China, however, slimmed down a bit that month. Banking's most influential CEO, JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, called Trump's push for fairer trade with China as " not unreasonable," even as a possibly resulting trade war could hamper everything from U.S. wine and automobiles to the affordability of big-screen TVs.

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