A Newsweek reporter who wrote that Donald Trump would spend Thanksgiving ‘tweeting, golfing, and more’ - hours before he touched down in a surprise visit to US troops in Afghanistan - has been fired.

The visit was kept highly secret for the president’s safety, and his public schedule said he would be at his Mar-a-Lago hotel in Florida on the holiday, where he would make calls to selected military members.

That led to an article being published in Newsweek based on apparent speculation, saying Mr Trump would likely spend the day on the golf course, and firing out missives on Twitter.

The error was quickly seized upon by Donald Trump Jr who posted a screenshot of the article with the caption: “Fake news gonna fake!”.

His father retweeted it shortly afterwards, commenting: “I thought Newsweek was out of business?”

The story was later updated, with the news organisation adding a note of their edits at the end of the article. The reporter, Jessica Kwong, has since had her employment terminated.

It's understood that several editors played a part in the publishing process, but so far it is unclear if they too have been disciplined or dismissed.

The Washington Examiner quoted a Newsweek spokesman who said: "Newsweek investigated the failures that led to the publication of the inaccurate report that President Trump spent Thanksgiving tweeting and golfing rather than visiting troops in Afghanistan.

Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan Show all 10 1 /10 Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan Donald Trump laughs with US troops after serving them Thanksgiving dinner at Bagram airbase during a surprise visit to Afghanistan AFP via Getty Images Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan It was the president's first visit to Afghanistan AFP via Getty Images Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan As is traditional with senior politicians, he was happy to help serve the troops – his vice-president Mike Pence did the same for US forces in Iraq a few days earlier AFP via Getty Images Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan Mr Trump gets stuck in. He told troops he had only been able to have a mouthful of mashed potatoes – and no turkey – before being dragged off to address them AFP via Getty Images Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan The president applauds as his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani addresses troops AFP via Getty Images Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan Mr Trump said that he was willing to restart talks with the Taliban REUTERS Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan He told US troops: "The Taliban wants to make a deal. And we are meeting with them and we say it has to be a ceasefire and they didn't want to do a ceasefire and now they want to do a ceasefire, I believe. It will probably work out that way." AFP via Getty Images Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan Mr Trump was accompanied on his trip by his national security adviser, Robert O'Brien. While it was his first trip to Afghanistan since becoming president in January 2017, he has been to a warzone once before when he visited troops in Iraq AFP via Getty Images Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan The president told troops that he had flown 8,331 miles to be there to tell them the US has never been stronger. He said: "There is nowhere I'd rather celebrate Thanksgiving." AFP via Getty Images Trump makes surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan Mr Ghani and Mr Trump holding talks at Bagram airbase. Tens of thousands of Afghan civilians and more than 2,400 American service members have been killed since America's longest war began 18 years ago AP

"The story has been corrected, and the journalist responsible has been terminated. We will continue to review our processes and, if required, take further action.”

The Independent has contacted Newsweek for more information.