By Nick Newling

Copyright theage

He said he had asked the question respectfully and Trump only reacted negatively when the question turned to whether the president had used his office to enrich himself and his family, Lyons said. “That’s when he unleashed on me and said he was going to dob on me.”

The White House, which has overseen drastic funding cuts to US public broadcasting, has described the altercation as Trump smacking “down a rude fake news loser”. Lyons said he was unhappy to see that description but noted the president had described many other reporters in the same way.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil backed Lyons’ reporting, saying: “Australian journalists ask really tough questions … that’s a part of the really strong democracy we have here in Australia, and I think Donald Trump got asked some of those tough questions.”

“It’s something that we experience every day in the Australian media. So I think the journalists are there to try to keep politicians accountable, and they’re entitled to ask difficult questions,” she told Seven’s Sunrise.