The project took a hard hit on federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg after he refused to appear

The Josh Frydenberg Project slammed on Thursday after the politician turned down multiple invitations to appear on the news show.

After discussing Frydenberg’s campaign ahead of the election, project presenter Waleed Aly said: “Treasurer Josh Frydenberg joins us.”

The camera then shifted to an empty chair with a set of microphones and headphones on it, before Frydenberg’s name appeared on the screen.

Waleed, 43, revealed that the Channel 10 program invited Frydenberg several times, but each time he turned it down.

“During this election campaign, we tried repeatedly to bring the treasurer to the hundreds of thousands of Australians who watched The Project,” he began.

“However, the treasurer declined each of our eight invitations. “We don’t know why, the treasurer has had a good relationship with us in the past but seems to be refusing to take action.”

Disappointed: Following a news report about Frydenberg’s pre-election campaign, project host Waleed Aly (pictured) said: “Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is now joining us.

Speaking to viewers of the show, Waleed added that it’s possible that 50-year-old Frydenberg thought he had “already made a decision.”

Or maybe he has other reasons to worry about being exposed. But the treasurer, the invitation is open,” he added.

“I’m sure there are audiences who want to hear about the project from Kooyong’s chair.”

No-show: The camera was moved to an empty seat covered with a set of microphones and headphones before Frydenberg’s name appeared on screen.

Conversation: Viewers of the show expressed disappointment over Frydenberg’s decision not to appear on Twitter, with one person calling him a “coward”

Meanwhile, her colleague Lisa Wilkinson said she was “surprised” by Frydenberg’s decision not to participate in the show.

“All the polls say there are a lot of undecided people. He could have gotten a handful of votes at the end of the day, but it’s up to Josh Frydenberg if he wants to join us.”

Viewers of the show expressed disappointment with Frydenberg’s decision not to appear on Twitter, with one person calling him a “coward.”

“The @JoshFrydenberg *no show* invitation really sounded like ‘You’ll never be on Channel 10 again, even for a good cause’. Ah,” one viewer tweeted.

Josh Frydenberg not appearing on #TheProjectTV? More like FIGHTENED-Berg, right?’ He tweeted another.

One viewer wrote, “Ooooooh, the #TheProjectTV footage created an empty seat for @JoshFrydenberg because he won’t be on the show…”

Another added, “The @JoshFrydenberg invitation to the *no show* really sounded like ‘You’ll never be on Channel 10 again, not even for charity’. Ahh.

Expect more: her colleague Lisa Wilkinson (right) said she was “surprised” by Frydenberg’s decision not to appear on the show.