Twitter users claim Donald Trump is giving Australian PM the middle finger during pair’s fiery phone call over immigration scheme
President Trump blasted Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull over a 'dumb' refugee deal
A PHOTO has emerged apparently showing Donald Trump giving the middle finger during an angry phone call with the Australian prime minister.
Trump last night blasted Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull and then hung up on him in what the US President described as his "worst call by far”.
Under the arrangement, Australia could transfer 1,250 refugees held in offshore detention centres on the Pacific Island nation of Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island to the US.
The deal was agreed by Barack Obama and Mr Turnbull in November within days of Mr Trump's election.
Mr Trump has since tweeted: "Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!"
During the phone call, Trump also reportedly accused Australia of seeking to export the “next Boston bombers”.
In a conversation that was characterised as “hostile and charged”, Mr Trump apparently told the PM he had spoken with four other world leaders that day, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, and “this was the worst call by far”.
Mr Trump also indulged in discussion about his election win and the size of his inauguration crowd, before ending the call when Mr Turnbull suggested they discuss the conflict in Syria and other issues.
The US President appears to have taken a similar tone with other world leaders, even to stop “bad hombres down there”.
When asked about the call during a press conference on Thursday morning, Mr Turnbull refused to comment.
“I’m not going to comment on a conversation between myself and the President of the United States, other than what we have said publicly,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
“You can surely understand the reasons for that ... It’s better that these things, these conversations are conducted candidly, frankly, privately.”
He said Australia’s relationship with the US was “very strong”.
“The fact we received the assurance that we did, the fact that it was confirmed, the very extensive engagement we have with the administration underlines the closeness of the alliance,” he said.
“Australians know me very well — I stand up for Australia in every forum — public or private.”
After the call, Turnbull told media that Trump had agreed to honour the refugee deal.
But since then, there has been confusion over whether Mr Trump actually intends to do this.
On Thursday morning the White House confirmed in a written statement to ABC that the US President was “still considering” whether to take refugees from Australia.
It came after a White House source said the President hadn’t decided whether to honour the agreement.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer confirmed the deal in a press conference yesterday.
“As you’ve heard from the President’s own spokesman this morning, the Trump administration has committed to progress with the arrangements to honour the deal … and that was the assurance the President gave me when we spoke on the weekend,” Mr Turnbull told the National Press Club.
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