US President Donald Trump is pushing back against criticisms that a leak of his private schedule suggests he spends much of his day relaxing or on Twitter.

Mr Trump tweeted that his penchant for spending large amounts of so called “executive time” should have been “reported as a positive, not a negative.”

The President also suggested that when the term “executive time” appears on his schedule, it means he is “generally working, not relaxing”.

Mr Trump’s work ethic has been a topic of Washington conversation after Axios obtained three months of his private schedules.

They revealed that he spent 60 per cent of his time in executive time, a term coined by former chief of staff John Kelly for unstructured time in Mr Trump’s day.

That time often coincides with when Mr Trump is on Twitter.

Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said the leaker’s identity should be known this week.

The media was able to get my work schedule, something very easy to do, but it should have been reported as a positive, not negative. When the term Executive Time is used, I am generally working, not relaxing. In fact, I probably work more hours than almost any past President…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 10, 2019

….The fact is, when I took over as President, our Country was a mess. Depleted Military, Endless Wars, a potential War with North Korea, V.A., High Taxes & too many Regulations, Border, Immigration & HealthCare problems, & much more. I had no choice but to work very long hours!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 10, 2019

According to the leaked schedule, Mr Trump is an early riser who usually spends the first 5 hours of the day in executive time. Each day’s schedule placed him in the Oval Office from 8am to 11am.

But Mr Trump, who often wakes before 6am, is never in the Oval Office during those hours, according to six sources with direct knowledge of his schedule quoted by Axios.

The President actually spends his mornings in his residence, watching TV, reading the papers, and responding to what he sees and reads by phoning aides, members of Congress, friends, administration officials and informal advisers, the report said.

According to the leaked schedules, Mr Trump has spent about 297 hours in executive time since November 7.

During the same period, Mr Trump had about 77 hours scheduled for meetings that included policy planning, legislative strategy and video recordings.