Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Republican legislators to refuse to raise the US debt limit, triggering a default, if President Joe Biden's Democrats don't agree to spending cuts.

"I say that the Republicans out there – congressmen, senators – if they don't give you massive cuts, you're gonna have to do a default," Trump, a frontrunner for the 2024 presidential nomination, said during a live appearance on CNN.

The lifting of the so-called debt ceiling – a limit on government borrowing to pay for bills already incurred – is often routine.

But budget-minded Republicans, who won control of the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections, have vowed to only raise the limit from its current $31.4 trillion maximum if spending curbs are enacted.

In his comments during a "town hall" on CNN, Trump added, however, that he sees such a scenario as unlikely.

"I don't believe they're going to do it before because I think the Democrats will absolutely cave because you don't want to have that happen," added Trump. "But it's better than what we're doing right now. Because we're spending money like drunken sailors."

The US government has never intentionally defaulted on its debt, and some economists warn that the effects on financial markets may be calamitous.

The former president also again refused to acknowledge that he lost the 2020 election and said he would pardon many supporters convicted for their involvement in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

When asked by CNN host Kaitlan Collins whether he would acknowledge that he lost to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, Trump launched a tirade, reasserting false claims that the election was rigged against him.

"It was a horrible election," Trump said, eliciting applause from some in attendance at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, an early nominating state that could prove critical in his bid for a second White House term.

His standing firm on his false claims about the 2020 elections defied concerns of Republican Party officials that his dwelling on his loss could cost the party support among Republican voters who want to move on and focus on more pressing issues. Biden has said he will seek a second term in 2024.

Trump declined to express regret for the deadly attack on the US Capitol when supporters sought to prevent Congress ratifying the election result, and he repeated his plan to pardon individuals involved if voters return him to the White House.

"I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can't say for every single one because a couple of them probably they got out of control," Trump said.

Regarding Tuesday's jury verdict that found Trump liable for sexually abusing magazine writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s and then defaming her, Trump again issued a denial.

Trump, who was absent throughout the two-week trial, was asked by an audience member what he had to say to voters who say it disqualifies him from being president.

"Well, there aren't too many of them because my poll numbers just came out," he said. "They went up." (AFP, Reuters)