Donald Trump
US presidential hopeful Donald Trump tweeted picture of Jeremy Corbyn REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Donald Trump has been tricked into retweeting a picture of Jeremy Corbyn, believing the new Labour leader was a fan. The Republican presidential nominee unwittingly posted the tweet despite the two holding conflicting world views.

The gaffe happened after a self-proclaimed Labour supporter and "professional troll" named Hamish sent Trump a picture of the grey-haired and bearded Corbyn wearing a Bob Dylan cap. The image was posted along with a message, saying: "My Dad is thinking of voting for the first time ever for you." Trump added his approval by writing "Great".

Since being posted, The Trump's message has been retweeted more than 7,500 times and favorited almost 4,500 times. Twitter users were quick to ridicule the outspoken billionaire businessman, with fellow Republican nominee Bobby Jindal tweeting a picture of a bare-chested Vladimir Putin and asking "Wow. Is there a world leader you DO recognize? Is this guy going to vote for you too?"

The mistake came as Corbyn, a left-wing anti-establishment politician surprised many by winning the Labour leadership ballot by a landslide. Corbyn and Trump have garnered comparisons because they were both considered to be outsiders in their respective leadership races before going on to build commanding leads.

However, the comparisons end there. Trump has been criticised for his anti-Mexican and migrant rhetoric, while Corbyn's first act as Labour leader was to attend a pro-refugee rally in Parliament Square, held on 12 September.

Twitter gaffes

Trump has been the victim Twitter prankster before. Last year he was tricked by a user named "feckhead" into retweeting a dated image of notorious British serial killers Fred and Rosemary West, along with a message claiming it was the user's dead parents.

The former host of the US version of Apprentice later deleted the tweet when he discovered the couple were actually responsible for raping and killing young girls in the 1970s before burying their bodies inside their home.

Trump is currently leading the race for Republican presidential nomination with 32% support. His nearest competitor is the neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who is trailing a distant second with 19%, according to the Telegraph.

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