Malcolm Turnbull called Bill Shorten a "simpering sycophant" and "parasite."
Highlights
- Malcolm Turnbull launched a scathing attack on Bill Shorten
- Mr Shorten is the leader of the opposition Labor Party in Australia
- Mr Turnbull called Mr Shorten a 'simpering sycophant' and 'parasite'
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been in the international headlines recently after US President Donald Trump reportedly hung up on him, ending an uncomfortable official phone call. However, in no way must it be thought that Mr Turnbull is incapable of launching verbal missiles of his own. See for evidence his scathing attack on Bill Shorten, leader of the opposition Labor Party in the Australian parliament, calling him a "simpering sycophant" and "parasite." Umm, ouch? "We've just heard from that great sycophant of billionaires, the leader of the opposition," Mr Turnbull began his tirade on February 8. So brutal was Mr Turnbull's take down, videos of the attack have gone viral all over social media. One version, shared by Twitter user @WrongDoc on February 9, has collected over 2,500 retweets and almost 2,000 'likes' so far.
"There was never a union leader in Melbourne that tucked his knees under more billionaires' tables than the leader of the opposition," Malcolm Turnbull thundered during his corrosive outburst, to loud cheers from the members of the parliament. "He lapped it up, oh yes, he lapped it up. He was such a sycophant, a social-climbing sycophant if ever there was one," he went on.
According to several reports, Mr Shorten had proposed a motion to condemn Mr Turnbull for "being so out of touch that his hopelessly divided government punishes family, pensioners, carers and new mums while giving $50 billion handout to business and big banks."
"He will say whatever suits his purpose from day to day - no consistency, no integrity," Mr Turnbull said during his rant. "This sycophant, blowing hard in the House of Representatives, sucking hard in the living rooms of Melbourne - what a hypocrite," he went on.
Take a look the video below to see Mr Turnbull's remarks:
"Brutal. Insane," says one commenter on Twitter. "This was refreshing!! Turnbull called him a sycophant 6 times in this 2 minute clip!" says another. "Ouch! That must have hit them hard & it really hurts. Wow! A crisp, no nonsense speech," says a Twitter user.