Washington, Sep 18 (IANS): US President Donald Trump retweeted an animated GIF that showed him swinging a golf club and appearing to hit his former presidential campaign rival Hillary Clinton with a golf ball.

The animated GIF image Trump retweeted on Sunday compiled footage of Trump taking a swing on a golf course with footage of Clinton tripping and falling as she boarded a plane in 2011 as Secretary of State, reports CNN.

The footage is edited to make it appear as though Clinton is hit in the back with a golf ball before her fall.

Former Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub, who has repeatedly criticised the administration about potential conflicts of interest before resigning in July, slammed Trump for the retweet and said he reported it to Twitter for violating the social media platform's rules of conduct.

"The President of the United States just retweeted a video vignette that imagines him assaulting his political rival. The man is unfit," tweeted Shaub, who joined the ethics office as a staff attorney early during the George W. Bush administration and was appointed as the office's director by former President Barack Obama.

This Twitter post was one of more than a half-dozen supporters' tweets the President retweeted Sunday before 8.30 a.m.