Donald Trump says he 'hates taking' asylum seekers: 'I guarantee you they are bad'

Donald Trump told the Prime Minister of Australia he hates taking in asylum seekers, adding “I guarantee you they are bad.”

Mr Trump's heated 24-minute conversation with Malcolm Turnbull took place on 28 January, a day after the US leader had issued his executive order banning refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. The ban, which was allowed to go into limited effect by the Supreme Court in June, was later reduced to six countries.

According to a transcript of Mr Trump's call with Mr Turnbull obtained by the Washington Post, Mr Trump praised Australia for refusing to allow people arriving on boats to reach its shores.

“It is not because they are bad people,” Mr Turnbull said. “It is because in order to stop people smugglers, we had to deprive them of the product. So we said if you try to come to Australia by boat, even if we think you are the best person in the world, even if you are a Noble [sic] Prize winning genius, we will not let you in. Because the problem with the people – ”

“That is a good idea,” Mr Trump interjected. “We should do that too. You are worse than I am.”

The tension between the two leaders appeared to intensify as the pair continued to discuss the US agreement to accept people from Australian detention centres, a deal reached in the final months of the Obama administration.

“I hate taking these people,” Mr Trump said.

“I guarantee you they are bad. That is why they are in prison right now. They are not going to be wonderful people who go on to work for the local milk people,” he added, in an apparent reference to dairy farmers in the US.

Under the deal reached between Mr Trump's predecessor Barack Obama and Mr Turnbull in November 2016, Australia would transfer around 1,250 refugees currently held in offshore detention centres on the Pacific Island nation of Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island to the US.

The transfer would be administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Mr Trump said letting the refugees enter the US would “make us look awfully bad.”

“Here I am calling for a ban where I am not letting anybody in and we take 2,000 people,” Mr Trump said. “Really it looks like 2,000 people that Australia does not want and I do not blame you by the way, but the United States has become like a dumping ground.”

Mr Turnbull responded that he thought the deal was “absolutely consistent” with Mr Trump's executive order.

“The obligation is for the United States to look and examine and take up to and only if they so choose – 1,250 to 2,000,” Mr Turnbull said. “Every individual is subject to your vetting. You can decide to take them or to not take them after vetting. You can decide to take 1,000 or 100. It is entirely up to you. The obligation is to only go through the process.”

“So that is the first thing,” he continued. “Secondly, the people — none of these people are from the conflict zone. They are basically economic refugees from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. That is the vast bulk of them. They have been under our supervision for over three years now and we know exactly everything about them.”

Mr Trump's original travel ban blocked entry to the US for citizens from seven countries – Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya – for a period of 90 days. Iraq was later removed from the list as as a result of criticism that the original order overlooked the country’s role in fighting terrorism.

“This is going to kill me,” Mr Trump said, referring to what could happen if he abided by the terms of the deal made with Australia. "I am the world’s greatest person that does not want to let people into the country.”

In April, Vice President Mike Pence said the US would “honour” the refugee resettlement agreement.