“I am not saying for all Americans, I am talking about President Trump only. I find that Americans are very nice people but not President Trump.

“I asked him to resign to save America,” he told reporters after officiating a dialogue with the French business community at Cyberjaya today.

On Saturday, Mahathir told Trump to quit, saying his proposed peace plan for Israel and Palestine, which Trump dubbed the “deal of the century”, was “utterly unacceptable” and would lead to more conflict in the Middle East.

Following this, the US embassy yesterday issued a statement expressing disappointment with Mahathir’s comments.

It said the remarks were “not in the spirit of constructive dialogue that has long served as the foundation of US-Malaysia relations”.

This partnership, the embassy said, had produced important outcomes regionally and globally.

In asking Trump to resign, Mahathir said he had “denigrated his role and his policies” and was “trying to use foreign pressure to win elections”.