Former President Donald Trump on Saturday repeated his praise of several authoritarian leaders, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Un “smart.”
During a rally in Commerce, Georgia, Trump referred to those authoritarian leaders as strong, saying “the smartest one gets to the top.”
Trump said China’s Xi was smart because he “runs 1.5 billion people with an iron fist,” while he called North Korea’s Kim “tough.” Both Xi and Kim have been widely condemned by the international community for human rights abuses.
Trump also repeated some praise for Putin, while distancing himself from previous remarks that seemed more fully supportive of the Russian leader.
“They asked me if Putin is smart. Yes, Putin was smart,” Trump told a crowd of rally-goers.
After acknowledging that Putin had made a “big mistake” in attacking another country and its people, Trump said the Russian leader’s massive buildup on the border ahead of the invasion appeared to be a “great negotiation.”
“That’s a hell of a way to negotiate, put 200,000 troops on the border,” Trump said. “That was a big mistake, but it looked like a great negotiation. That didn’t work out too well for him.”
Trump previously called Putin “very savvy” after the Russian president declared he would recognize two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as independent days before invading, which drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Trump later attempted to walk those comments back and has condemned the invasion.
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