A leading Fox News host has issued a bizarre defence of Donald Trump, in which he described the president as a "liar" and a “full-blown BS artist”.

Tucker Carlson said the president makes misleading statements because “that’s who he is” and compared Mr Trump to a “salesman”.

“He's a talker, a boaster, a booster, a compulsive self-promoter. At times, he's a full-blown BS artist,” Mr Carlson said.

The Fox News presenter also rejected the White House’s claim that Mr Trump’s 2017 inauguration was “the largest ever measured on the national mall”.

“We're not going to lie to you: that was untrue,” he added.

All the times that bigger crowds than Trump's showed up to DC Show all 7 1 /7 All the times that bigger crowds than Trump's showed up to DC All the times that bigger crowds than Trump's showed up to DC Million Man March 95 - 837,000 Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan called the Million Man March in 1995 in order that black men could improve their image in society AFP/Getty All the times that bigger crowds than Trump's showed up to DC Million Mom March - Over 700,000 Demanding sensible gun legislation, over 700,000 mothers, grandmothers and other marched on Washington in the year 2000 AFP/Getty All the times that bigger crowds than Trump's showed up to DC March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom - 300,000 The 1963 march that saw Martin Luther King give his famous 'I have a dream' speech drew 300,000 people to the National Mall to demand civil rights AFP/Getty All the times that bigger crowds than Trump's showed up to DC Women's March - Over 200,000 The day after the inauguration of President Trump, women all over the world took to the streets in protest of his comments on women. 200,000 marched on Washington alone. AFP/Getty All the times that bigger crowds than Trump's showed up to DC March for Women's Lives - 1.1 million A pro-choice rally in 2004 drew over a million people to the National Mall to protest against the Bush administration's policies on family planning and reproductive health issues Reuters All the times that bigger crowds than Trump's showed up to DC March on Washington for LGBT rights - Over 1,000,000 Over 1,000,000 people marched on Washington in April 1993 to demand greater rights for LGBT people AFP/Getty All the times that bigger crowds than Trump's showed up to DC Obama's Inauguration - 1.1 million The inauguration on Barack Obama in January 2009 drew 1.1 million (top) people to the National Mall, the highest number since Lyndon B Johnson's second inauguration in 1965. President Trump falsely claimed that his crowd (bottom) was bigger Reuters

A Washington Post report published in October found Mr Trump had made more than 13,000 false or misleading claims since taking office in January 2017.

However, despite acknowledging that the president often lies, Mr Carlson claimed the media hates him because he “tells the truth”.

As an example of the president’s supposed truth-telling, the conservative commentator referred to Mr Trump’s anti-immigration comments during his presidential campaign.

In 2015, Mr Trump referred to Mexican immigrants as “rapists” in a sweeping attack on immigration.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” he said.

“They’re sending people that have lots of problems… They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

However, the majority of studies in the US have found lower crime rates among immigrants compared to non-immigrants, contradicting the perception that immigration increases crime.

A 2019 study by The Marshall Project, an online journalism organisation which covers criminal justice, found no causal connection between immigration and crime in the United States.

The Fox News presenter ended the segment by mockingly saying: “Let's just agree that Trump is a racist liar and move on.”

Mr Carlson, who is a staunch defender of the president, has been repeatedly accused of making sexist and racist comments on TV and radio shows during his career.

In August, advertiser started deserting his primetime show after he called white supremacy “a hoax” after the El Paso mass shooting in which 22 people were killed.

However, Mr Carlson has been willing to criticise Mr Trump in relation to the Ukraine scandal that is the subject of an ongoing impeachment inquiry.