Former prime minister Tony Abbott has described Donald Trump's surprise victory in the US presidential election as "the revenge of the deplorables" and says it will put contentious global issues such as climate change into "better perspective".

In a wide-ranging television interview with conservative commentator Andrew Bolt, Mr Abbott pointed to a number of areas where the political tide had appeared to turn in favour of the right-wing, including the changing behaviour of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and momentum for amending section 18C race laws.

"This is, if you like, the revenge of the deplorables," he said of Mr Trump's victory on November 8. "All of the people who are sick of being called racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic because they don't comply with the canons of political correctness ... all those people saw Donald Trump as in some way their champion."

The Republican President-elect has asserted that global warming is a Chinese hoax and vowed to tear up the Paris climate agreement which Australia ratified last week. While refusing to call climate change a "scam", Mr Abbott said the election of Mr Trump would put the climate issue into perspective.