Donald Trump 'yelled at Australian PM during "worst ever" phone call about refugee swap deal - then HUNG UP'

Malcolm Turnbull denied the President slammed the phone down saying the conversation ended cordially - and he insisted the US will honor Obama's refugee deal

The Post reported that Trump described the resettlement plan as "the worst deal ever" and accused Australia of trying to export the "next Boston bombers", referring to the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.

The attack was carried out by two Chechen-American brothers who moved to the US as children a short time after their parents arrived on tourist visas in 2002 and successfully applied for asylum.

A black and white photo released by the White House following the conversation shows Trump on the phone at his desk in the Oval Office.

The Post's report about the phone call last weekend has pointed to a rare rift in ties between the US and Australia, where Turnbull leads with a thin majority.

Turnbull said on Thursday he had spoken "candidly" and "frankly" with Trump, but would not confirm that the President had berated him and cut the call short.

He said: "I do stand up for Australia. My job is to defend Australian interests."

But sources told Sky News Australia the Aussie PM believes Trump is a "bully" and that "to combat a bully, you need to bully back".

The source went on: "[Trump's] tone was described as “yelling” across the phone at Malcolm Turnbull.

"Malcolm Turnbull wasn’t just sitting there being berated by Donald Trump, he used this phone call to push back."

Trump took to Twitter to add more fuel to the controversy by tweeting: "Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!"

The saga continued when Turnbull then felt the need to respond further and he appeared live on several radio shows in Australia.