Mark Giangreco, a sportscaster for ABC 7 in Chicago, has been suspended

A sports anchor has been suspended after he sent a tweet branding President Trump a 'cartoon lunatic' and referring to America as 'a country full of simpletons'.

Mark Giangreco, a sportscaster for ABC 7 in Chicago posted the tweet on Sunday, in response to a post by sent by Toronto Star sports columnist Bruce Arthur.

Arthur tweeted: 'Donald Trump: a hateful ignorant corrupt simpleton supported by 87 (percent) of Republicans', to which Giangreco's replied: 'so obvious, so disturbing. America exposed as a country full of simpletons who allowed this cartoon lunatic to be "elected".'

His use of inverted commas also appeared to call into question the legitimacy of Trump's election.

Giangreco's tweet was later deleted, but screenshots of his post were circulated online, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Announcing his suspension, the Disney-owned station's management said in a statement: 'Sports anchor Mark Giangreco's Twitter comments are not in line with ABC 7 Chicago's non-partisan editorial standards.

'We've reviewed the matter and are taking the appropriate action.'

His sense of humor has won him fans, both at ABC and in his previous role at NBC-5, where he spent more than a decade.

However, it is not the first time Giangreco's comments have landed him in hot water.

He previously joked that Fox News should be renamed 'Nazi News' in response to a suggestion from former Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling that CNN should be called 'LPNN' - with the 'LP' standing for 'liberal propaganda.'

Sports anchor Mark Giangreco referred to President Trump as a 'cartoon lunatic' and said that his supporters 'simpletons'

And in 1999 he made a comment about Walter Payton, saying he looked 'shriveled up', but Giangreco was unaware that the former Chicago Bears great was actually suffering from a fatal liver condition.

At the time, after making his condition public, Payton said: 'That hurt, it really did. 'I realize how serious it is and I realize there are a lot of other people that it might be serious to. To poke fun at it without even knowing what the problems are … it's very difficult. Very disheartening.'

Giangreco said he was 'devastated,' and apologized on air, explaining he had no idea that Payton was ill.

He was also forced to apologize in 2014 for a graphic of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler captioned 'cut him or cut your wrists.' The post provoked outrage for making light of suicide.

And in 2004 he got into trouble for a remark he made about disorder in Detroit following a Pistons NBA title.

He said the black-and-white clip of fires showed 'a typical night in Detroit,' and he was suspended for a week as a result.