Donald Trump has savaged an Aussie reporter for ‘not knowing anything’ after she questioned why the president does not support Ukraine to win the war over Russia.

The Nightly’s Latika Bourke pressed the US president on the matter during his first proper meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House on Monday.

‘You have within your power, the most powerful man on Earth, why don’t you just enable Ukraine to finish this war tomorrow?’ she asked.

Trump met last week with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House where they discussed upcoming peace talks with Vladimir Putin.

Kyiv is demanding America supply long-range Tomahawk missiles, but Trump has refused, believing that this will only provoke Russia and hamstring negotiations. 

Trump hit back at Bourke’s question: ‘Well, if you knew anything about what you were talking about, you’d be able…’

‘I do,’ Bourke interrupted.

Trump replied: ‘You do? I don’t think you do, really. I don’t think you do. Because it’s a little more complicated than that, but it sounds easy.’ 

The Nightly’s Latika Bourke pressed Donald Trump on the Ukraine-Russia war

‘We’re in the process of trying to make a deal. If we make a deal, that’s great. If we don’t make a deal, it’ll be a lot of people who are paying a big price.’

Trump then called for quiet as the media spoke over each other. 

It is not the first time Bourke has made headlines for a tense exchange with a political leader, with Albanese clashing with her in New York in September.

Albanese told Bourke ‘don’t verbal me’ after she pressed him on comments he made in April about whether he had Donald Trump’s personal phone number.

At the time, Albanese had said: ‘No. I’m not sure that he has a mobile phone, the US President. Or Joe Biden. It’s not the way it works with any global leader.’

‘There’s people taking notes from either side, it’s not a casual relationship,’ he explained.

‘I don’t have Donald Trump’s number.’

But while in New York, French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly phoned Trump directly when he was stuck in traffic and asked the US President for help navigating the gridlock.

Donald Trump has savaged an Aussie reporter for ‘not knowing anything’ after she questioned why the president does not support Ukraine to win the war over Russia

When the reporter contrasted the French president’s access to Trump with that of Albanese, citing his earlier claim Trump did not have a mobile, the Prime Minister cut her off.

‘Don’t verbal me, don’t verbal me,’ Albanese said. ‘I didn’t say that, but anyway, keep going. If I did [say it], it’s called a joke – humour.’

‘Obviously he has a mobile phone.

‘The point I was making was that between leaders of nations, you organise phone calls, you have note-takers, and you do it in rooms where mobiles aren’t allowed. That’s the point.’