The Prime Minister's Office has suspended an administrative staffer over an "inappropriate" three-month-old Facebook post about Donald Trump, amid a media storm prompted by a Sydney shock jock.
2GB radio reported the executive assistant to Malcolm Turnbull's chief-of-staff Drew Clarke had been suspended Friday afternoon after announcer Ben Fordham inquired about her online activities.
More World News Videos
- Video duration
- 01:29
Twitter used against Trump
Twitter used against Trump
US Democrats have taken to Twitter to show support for Australia after the tense Turnbull-Trump phone call, with one Republican trying to smooth relations.
- Video duration
- 01:00
Individual handshake for each student
Individual handshake for each student
With over 40 individualised handshakes for students, colleagues and volunteers, a video of a North Carolina teacher goes viral.
Up Next
Our PM has a new name
- Video duration
- 01:58
- Video duration
- 01:58
Our PM has a new name
Our PM has a new name
Listen as White House press secretary Sean Spicer mispronounces Malcolm Turnbull's name, leaving it to a colleague to get it right.
Up Next
Trump defends 'tough' phone call with Australia
- Video duration
- 00:52
- Video duration
- 00:52
Trump defends 'tough' phone call with ...
Trump defends 'tough' phone call with Australia
President Donald Trump has defended his "tough" approach to speaking with foreign leaders in his first public remarks since details of his phone conversation with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull became public.
Up Next
Uber boss quits Trump advisory group
- Video duration
- 01:00
- Video duration
- 01:00
Uber boss quits Trump advisory group
Uber boss quits Trump advisory group
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has quit President Donald Trump's business advisory group after coming under fierce criticism for taking part.
Up Next
Nonprofits reject govt. grants because of Trump
- Video duration
- 01:21
- Video duration
- 01:21
Nonprofits reject govt. grants because of ...
Nonprofits reject govt. grants because of Trump
Nonprofit groups awarded the U.S. government's first grants to combat violent extremism are rejecting the money because of President Donald Trump's actions involving the Muslim and Arab community.
Up Next
Trump's phone call to 'Trunbull'
- Video duration
- 01:07
- Video duration
- 01:07
Trump's phone call to 'Trunbull'
Trump's phone call to 'Trunbull'
White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, says President Trump had a 'very cordial' conversation with the prime minister of Australia. But he gets one important detail wrong...
Twitter used against Trump
US Democrats have taken to Twitter to show support for Australia after the tense Turnbull-Trump phone call, with one Republican trying to smooth relations.
The junior staffer was accused of posting to Facebook a photo of a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Tuck Frump", a play on the phrase "F**k Trump" and which also promotes an anti-Trump website.
According to 2GB the original post was made in November, but the staffer had the image permanently fixed on her page as recently as January.
It follows revelations of a hostile phone call between the Prime Minister and the US President, in which Mr Trump reportedly yelled at Mr Turnbull about the Obama-era agreement to accept refugees from Manus Island and Nauru.
The suspension underlines the hyper-sensitivies around the relationship between the two countries following the call.
A spokesman for Mr Turnbull told Fairfax Media: "The employee accepts that these posts were inappropriate and has deleted them from her account. The chief-of-staff has suspended her immediately while the matter is investigated further."
Fairfax Media has chosen not to name the staffer, who was employed in an administrative rather than political or policy-related capacity.
Fordham said prime ministerial staff were "shocked" when he contacted them about the matter at lunchtime on Friday. He was informed about the suspension hours later, he said.
The website TuckFrump.com - to which the staffer did not link directly - features a caricature doll of the US President which is subjected to several violent acts including being burnt, steamrolled, blended, flushed down a toilet and blown up.
Visitors can also purchase a "Tuck Frump" tank top, bumper sticker and voodoo doll.
"TuckFrump.com is a #NotMyPresident social media protest campaign working to organise opposition to Donald Trump's racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted, anti-environmental agenda," the website declares