Donald Trump slams 'dumb' refugee deal with Australia after 'worst' phone call
US President Donald Trump has hit out at what he says is a 'dumb deal' to take 'illegal immigrants' from Australia
Donald Trump reportedly described the call as 'the worst so far'
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will review a "dumb deal" to take hundreds of Australian asylum seekers after the Washington Post reported he had angrily berated Australia's Prime Minister and abruptly ended a tense telephone call.
The new US leader reportedly abruptly cut short his call with Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull after criticizing the agreement to re-home people and exulting over his electoral college victory in the November poll, according to the Washington Post.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters the call on Saturday had been frank and candid but refused to provide further details on a "private" conversation.
The Washington Post reported that Trump had described the call with the leader of Australia, one of the United States' staunchest allies, as "the worst so far".
It came less than a day after Washington had sown confusion in Australia after saying it would apply "extreme vetting" as part of the refugee resettlement deal.
The deal was agreed late last year between Australia. As part of the deal, Washington agreed to resettle up to 1,250 asylum seekers held in offshore processing camps on Pacific islands in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. In return, Australia would resettle refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
"Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal," Trump said on Twitter not long before midnight Washington time.
Trump's comments cast further doubt on the resettlement deal, which was already in question after Trump signed an executive order last week that suspended the US refugee programme and restricted entry to the United States for travellers from majority-Muslim countries such as Iran, Iraq, and Syria.
Many of those being held in the Australian detention centres, which have drawn harsh criticism from the United Nations and rights groups, have fled violence in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.
