He also blasted Democrat Hillary Clinton as 'the greatest freak show'

Praises him as 'successful and down to earth' with 'bold' plans

'(Trump) is by no means perfect but I much prefer his approach,' he wrote

Controversial former Labor leader Mark Latham has waded into the US presidential election campaign, speaking out in defence of billionaire contender Donald Trump.

Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Latham on Tuesday lavished the Republican Party frontrunner with praise. He described the property mogul as a 'successful and down-to-earth' candidate with 'bold solutions' and the U.S. and Australia's best interests at heart.

'The Donald is by no means perfect but I much prefer his approach to the lying snakes of machine politics and media manipulation,' Latham wrote.

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Former Labor leader Mark Latham has waded into the U.S. presidential election campaign, writing in support of billionaire property mogul Donald Trump

'The Donald is by no means perfect but I much prefer his approach to the lying snakes of machine politics and media manipulation,' Latham wrote of Trump (pictured)

Trump (centre) is ahead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination

The former politician - who much like Trump, often finds himself the centre of controversy - spoke glowingly of the Trump's 'anti-PC' attitude.

'Why shouldn’t they support a successful, down-to-earth candidate who talks their language and shares their values?' he said of American voters.

Latham famously campaigned for Australia to withdraw its troops from Iraq during his failed 2004 federal election bid.

And in his column, he argued that a President Trump would not drag Australian servicemen into disastrous overseas conflicts like Iraq or Vietnam.

'Far from being a dangerous warmonger, Trump has a clear-headed appreciation of his country’s best interests - and ours,' Latham wrote.

He also slammed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton as a 'freak show', pointing out how she barked like a dog at a rally last month.

Latham, who opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, said a President Trump would not drag Australia into dangerous overseas conflicts

Latham slammed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for barking like a dog at a rally last month while making a point about Republicans

Mrs Clinton had been telling a crowd about a radio ad she heard where a dog barked every time someone lied when she brought out her best canine impression.

Latham resigned as a columnist for the Australian Financial Review recently after revelations he trolled prominent Australian women from a secret Twitter account.

Since leaving politics, he has authored several books and is a commentator for the Seven Network.

He recently returned to writing about social issues for News Corp newspapers although a foray into radio for broadcaster Triple M failed to get off the ground.