Donald Trump slammed Malcolm Turnbull over a proposed asylum seeker deal and accused the Australian Prime Minister of looking to ship off the 'next Boston bombers' to the United States during their first official telephone conversation.

On Thursday afternoon the President took to Twitter to slam the Obama administration for agreeing to take on the refugees in the first place.

'Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!,' he wrote.

Senior US officials told the Washington Post that Donald Trump abruptly hung up on Mr Turnbull after just 25 minutes - when the pair were meant to speak for an hour.

But an indignant Mr Turnbull returned serve, telling 2GB's Ben Fordham: 'As far as the call is concerned, I’m very disappointed, the report the president hung up is not correct, the call ended courteously.'

A fuming President Trump reportedly told Mr Turnbull that the conversation was 'the worst call by far' he had taken that day, after 'boasting' about pleasant exchanges with Russian President Vladimir Putin and three other world leaders.

President Trump reportedly ranted about the deal the Obama administration struck with Canberra to take 1250 genuine refugees from Nauru and Manus Island, telling Mr Turnbull: 'I don't want these people'.

It was the 'worst deal ever', he told the prime minister, complaining he was 'going to get killed' politically for following through on the resettlement agreement.

Sky News sources claim President Trump was 'yelling' at Mr Turnbull at points during the heated conversation, which took place on Saturday afternoon Washington time, Sunday morning Australian time.

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Donald Trump slammed Malcolm Turnbull over the proposed asylum seeker deal during their first official telephone conversation (Pictured: Speaking to Malcolm Turnbull)

On Thursday afternoon the newly-elected president took to Twitter to slam the Obama administration for making the 'dumb deal' to take on 'thousands of illegal immigrants'

A fuming President Trump reportedly told Mr Turnbull that the conversation was 'the worst call by far' he had taken that day (Pictured: Speaking to Malcolm Turnbull)

Sources claimed President Trump was 'yelling' at Mr Turnbull during the conversation

WHAT IS THE AUSTRALIA-US REFUGEE DEAL? The Obama administration and Turnbull government struck a deal to resettle some of the refugees being held offshore in Nauru and Manus Island in November last year The Australian government has a 'zero tolerance' policy towards illegal boat arrivals and only genuine refugees are sent to Nauru and Manus Island There are approximately 1,250 refugees being held in the Australian-funded offshore detention centres A large majority of those refugees come from Iran, Iraq and Somalia - all countries on US President Donald Trump's travel-ban President Trump reportedly agreed to honour the deal, on the condition the refugees would undergo 'extreme vetting' The US President reportedly described it as the 'worst deal ever' in a heated conversation with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday Advertisement

Mr Trump indicated he was sceptical about what America got out of honouring the deal.

After Mr Turnbull apparently suggested they move on and talk about foreign affairs, including the conflict in Syria, President Trump ended the conversation.

'During call with Australian PM on refugees, Trump pulled phone away from ear and says he wants off call, which ends abruptly per source,' CNN reporter Jim Acosta tweeted.

Under the agreement reached with the Obama administration, Australian would take a number of South American refugees, currently in a processing center in Costa Rica, in return.

These refugees are predominantly Christian, according to reports.

In response to revelations of the hostile phone conversation, Mr Turnbull remained tight-lipped on Thursday and said that he wasn't going to comment.

'It's better that these things - these conversations are conducted candidly, frankly, privately. If you see reports of them, I'm not going to add to them,' he said.

Sky News reporter Laura Jayes said Australian government sources who took part in discussions after the call said Mr Turnbull viewed the president as a 'bully'.

'What I derived from that was Malcolm Turnbull used this phone call to push back,' Ms Jayes said.

'He wasn't just sitting there being berated by Donald Trump, he talked about how important it was for (Trump) to honour the deal.'

The explosive report is a huge embarrassment for Mr Turnbull, who has insisted in recent days the asylum seeker deal is solid and relations with Washington are fine.

The United States and Australia have been close military and economic allies for generations, with Australian troops fighting alongside Americans in every military conflict Washington has been involved in since World War II.

Australia is one of just four other countries the US shares security intelligence with under the Five Eyes alliance. The two countries have also shared a free trade agreement since 2005.

Close analysis of the President's body-language during the call shows there were signs of bad news to come, as he appears to throw a middle-finger at the camera

CNN reporter Jim Acosta tweeted: 'During call with Australian PM on refugees, Trump pulled phone away from ear and says he wants off call, which ends abruptly per source'

President Trump described the resettlement agreement as the 'worst deal ever' and said he was 'going to get killed' politically for following through on it (Pictured: Speaking to Malcolm Turnbull)

President Trump indicated he was sceptical about what America got out of honouring the deal (Pictured: Speaking to Malcolm Turnbull)

President Trump reportedly ended the conversation after Mr Turnbull suggested they talk about foreign affairs, including the conflict in Syria (Pictured: Speaking to Malcolm Turnbull)

In response to revelations of the phone conversation, Mr Turnbull said on Thursday that he wasn't going to comment and would not be adding to any reports

The official statement about the phone call released by the White House told a different story.

'Both leaders emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the US-Australia relationship that is critical for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and globally,' it said.

Mr Turnbull on Monday described the call as constructive, saying the pair acknowledged the already strong and deep relationship between the US and Australia and committed to making it stronger.

'That's my job. My job is to defend the national interest of Australia and defend the interests of Australians,' he told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

'You may wish to speculate about policies and politics in Washington, that's not my role. My job is today and everyday to stand up for Australia and that's what I do. '

He also thanked the president for 'committing' to honour the refugee agreement.

Government sources told CNN that Trump pulled the phone away from his ear and indicated he wanted the conversation to end

Mr Turnbull said the phone call with President Trump ended courteously (Pictured: Speaking to Malcolm Turnbull)

President Trump reportedly ranted about the deal the Obama administration struck with Canberra to take 1250 refugees being held on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island (pictured) and Nauru

About 1.30pm (AEDT) on Thursday the US Embassy in Australia released a statement that the deal would go ahead.

'President Trump's decision to honour the refugee agreement has not changed and Spokesman Spicer's comments stand,' a spokeswoman said.

'This was just reconfirmed to the State Department from the White House and on to this Embassy at 13:15 Canberra time.'

But it came after a morning of mixed messages from various official sources.

On Wednesday it was reported that the White House had backtracked on the asylum seeker deal, saying that President Trump was still considering it.

White House spokesperson Sean Spicer said the deal had not been confirmed.

He said if it were to go ahead, it would only be because of the United States' 'longstanding relationship with Australia,' The ABC reported.

The explosive report is a huge embarrassment for Mr Turnbull, who has insisted in recent days the asylum seeker deal is solid and relations with Washington are fine

Last week Mr Trump placed a temporary ban on refugees being admitted to the US and other strict border measures targeting seven countries

'CRUEL, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING': UN HITS OUT OVER 'OPEN-AIR PRISON' Australia has been heavily criticized by the UN for its policy of sending migrants to offshore detention centers. In November UN investigator Francois Crepeau visited the island of Nauru, where asylum seekers who arrive by boat are sent, and described conditions as 'cruel, inhuman and degrading'. Mr Crepeau said Australia's policies 'have increasingly eroded the human rights of migrants in contravention of its international human rights and humanitarian obligations'. And he continued: 'Australia would vehemently protest if its citizens were treated like this by other counties and especially if Australian children were treated like this.' Amnesty International said in October that the immigration center was an 'open-air prison'. Advertisement

It comes just one day after Mr Spicer told reporters Mr Trump would honour the 'one-off' deal with former President Barack Obama in November to resettle refugees detained on Manus and Nauru.

'Part of the deal is they have to be vetted in the same manner that we are doing now.

'There will be extreme vetting applied to all of them,' he said.

Last week Mr Trump placed a temporary ban on refugees being admitted to the US and other strict border measures targeting seven countries including Iran, Iraq and Syria.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump confirmed his administration would continue to honour the 2016 refugee resettlement arrangement while acknowledging a common interest in preventing irregular and illegal migration.

'The president, in accordance with that deal to honour what had been agreed upon by the US government, and ensuring that vetting will take place in the same manner that we are doing it now, it will go forward,' Mr Spicer said.

The refugees are being held on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island and Nauru.

Speaking to reporters at the G'day USA gala in Hollywood, Ms Bishop said Mr Turnbull would travel to the US for a yet to be scheduled meeting with the president.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said Mr Turnbull was 'pleased with the outcome' of his discussion. Manus Island is pictured

This was despite the 'one-off' deal with former President Barack Obama in November to resettle refugees detained on Manus Island (pictured) and Nauru

TOUGH IMMIGRATION LAWS WHICH SEE 'BOAT PEOPLE' SENT TO OFFSHORE CAMPS Offshore detention in Australia has been in place since 2001, and in 2013 Australia's mainland was excluded from its migration zone for people who arrive by boat. Now migrants who arrive on Australian shores by sea are immediately sent to the island of Nauru or Papau New Guinea. They stay in detention facilities while their applications to be accepted into Australia are processed. Although 90 per cent are ruled to have valid claims, they are not allowed to settle in the Australian mainland, instead being allowed to stay in Nauru or Papau New Guinea. The policy has come under heavy fire, with conditions in the camp branded 'inhuman' by a UN inspector in November. Supporters claim it deters migrants from arriving in dangerous vessels, and ensures refugees enter the country through proper channels. In 2015 Australia agreed to accept 12,000 refugees from Syria. The previous year violence had erupted at a protest at the detention center on Manus Island, and a 23-year-old Iranian man was killed. Turnbull has previously stated that Australians cannot be 'misty-eyed' about immigration, saying: 'We must have secure borders and we do and we will, and they will remain so, as long as I am the prime minister of this country.' Advertisement



