Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump, whose time in office has been defined in large part by his frequent falsehoods and misleading statements, claimed Wednesday he tries to be truthful.

"I remember, you remember well in the campaign, you made a promise. You said, 'I will never lie to you,'" ABC News' Jon Karl said to Trump in a new interview. "So can you tell me now, honestly, have you kept that promise at all times? Have you always been truthful?"

"Well I try. I mean, I do try. I think you try, too. You say things about me that are not necessarily correct," Trump replied. "I do try, and I always want to tell the truth. When I can, I tell the truth."

"I mean sometimes it turns out to be where something happens that's different or there's a change. But I always like to be truthful," he added.

Trump's comments are especially notable coming at the close of a contentious campaign season in which he has repeatedly engaged in smears and falsehoods to advance Republican electoral fortunes, from inflating his rally crowd sizes to accusing Democrats, frequently without evidence, of supporting ruinous immigration policies.

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