Trump defends 'tough phone calls' with world leaders

US President Donald Trump defended on Thursday a series of "tough phone calls" with world leaders after reportedly exchanging harsh words with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and a diplomatic spat with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
"When you hear about the tough phone calls I'm having, don't worry about it," Trump told the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event in Washington.
"Just don't worry about it. They're tough. We have to be tough. It's time we're going to be a little tough folks. We're taking advantage of by every nation in the world virtually. It's not going to happen anymore. It's not going to happen anymore."
Trump had earlier slammed a deal reached last year between the US and Australia to take refugees from an Australian detention centre and had reportedly clashed with Turnbull on the deal in a weekend phone call.
Trump also clashed with the Mexican leader over US plans to construct a border wall between the nations, prompting the Pena Nieto to cancel a scheduled trip to Washington.

Australia-US ties hit new low
 
US ties with ally Australia were strained on Thursday over a reported acrimonious phone call between their two leaders and President Donald Trump's assertion that an existing refugee swap deal was "dumb."
Trump described the resettlement plan as "the worst deal ever," the Washington Post reported, and accused Australia of trying to export the "next Boston bombers."
The call had been scheduled to last an hour but Trump cut it short after 25 minutes when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tried to turn to subjects such as Syria, according to the newspaper.
The apparent breakdown between Washington and Canberra that has developed over the resettlement deal could have serious repercussions. Australia and the United States are among the five nations that make up the Five Eyes group, the world's leading intelligence-sharing network.
Turnbull told reporters that he had been surprised and disappointed that details of the call with Trump had been leaked but gave few particulars other than to deny reports that Trump had hung up on him.
"As far as the call is concerned, the report that the president hung up is not correct. The call ended courteously. And as far as the nature of the discussion, it was very frank and forthright," he told a Sydney radio station on Thursday.
"I make Australia's case as powerfully and persuasively as I can wherever I am," he said.
Turnbull declined to confirm the Post report that Trump, who has spoken to world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, had angrily told him that the call was "the worst so far."