US President Donald Trump has slammed former US military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning over Twitter as an "ungrateful traitor" for criticising former president Barack Obama over his willingness to compromise.
Chelsea Manning made the comments in an op-ed for The Guardian which called for unapologetic progressive leadership, claiming Mr Obama's approach of compromise and trying to appeal for middle-ground had failed.
Ms Manning made no mention in her column of President Obama's commutation, which will see the convicted leaker released from prison on May 17 this year, wiping almost 30 years from her prison sentence.
It didn't take long for President Trump to issue his response to the column, and for other social-media users to respond with charges of hypocrisy.
For years Donald Trump has criticised Mr Obama for weakness.
While not mentioning US President Donald Trump by name, Manning wrote in Britain's the Guardian that "after eight years of attempted compromise and relentless disrespect in return, we are moving into darker times" and urged Democrats not to compromise.
Manning had been sentenced to 35 years in prison after committing the biggest breach of classified information in American history in 2010 by handing over US government secrets to anti-secrecy group Wikileaks.
Republicans, including Trump's spokesman, criticised the commutation as a dangerous precedent for leakers.
Obama has defended the move, saying Manning had served a tough sentence and that justice had been served.
Formerly known as Bradley Manning, Chelsea Manning struggled to cope as a transgender woman in a men's military prison and last year twice attempted suicide.
Manning said the former president's approach of starting off with compromise had left a "vulnerable legacy" with "very few permanent accomplishments".
- With AAP
