Bullshit mate. No-one needs permission to call someone something, particularly a public figure, and it was quite obviously done here for provocative effect, which is fine for a public talk.

British debating tradition does this all the time, which you should know as an Aussie and someone who shouldn't be infected by the 'commie scare' derangement that so many US Americans suffer from (and which is so fucking tedious for the rest of us).