US President Donald Trump on call with his Australian counterpart and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Pics/AP

Washington: US President Donald Trump ripped into his Australian counterpart during their call last week, reports said, castigating a refugee accord he later described on Twitter as a "dumb deal."

The Washington Post said Trump abruptly cut short the fiery conversation after criticising the deal to re-settle people kept in Pacific camp. Of his four conversations with world leaders that day, "this was the worst call by far," the report cited him as telling Turnbull, shortly before cutting the call.

Turnbull said he was disappointed details of the "very frank and forthright" exchange had been leaked.