US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he did not know about the US$130,000 secret cash payment that his lawyer made to pornography film actress Stormy Daniels, reported Xinhua news agency.

"No. You'll have to ask Michael," Trump replied when asked aboard Air Force One whether he knew about the secret payment his personal lawyer Michael Cohen made to Daniels to secure her silence over their alleged affair.

This was Trump's first public response to his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford. She claimed that she had "consensual" sex with Trump in July 2006.

The White House said that Trump denied there was a relationship.

Daniels received a US$130,000 payment weeks before the 2016 presidential election and signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Trump did not sign it.

Cohen, who signed the NDA, said he paid the money out of his own pocket and was not reimbursed.

Daniels was trying to annul the NDA, while Trump and Cohen were seeking to have the case heard by an arbitrator instead of a jury.

Meanwhile, Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Daniels, said Trump's statement could create legal problems.

"If the president didn't know anything about the payment, then he obviously didn't know anything about the agreement, in which case you can't have an agreement,'’ he told MSNBC.

--Bernama