The recurring Trump praise for authoritarian leaders

Rerun #15

Oct 2024 Xi "a brilliant guy" who controls 1.4 billion people "with an iron fist" (Joe Rogan interview)

In a Joe Rogan Experience interview released October 25, 2024, Trump said of Chinese President Xi Jinping: "He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist. I mean, he's a brilliant guy, whether you like it or not." He added that the press goes "crazy" when he calls Xi brilliant (NextShark, as carried by Yahoo News). This repeats wording he used at a July 20, 2024 rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, the Kyiv Independent reported, he called Xi "brilliant" and said "he controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist." On the diplomatic context, AP noted Trump made the remark in the same interview where he said "Taiwan, they stole our chip business." AP also noted Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province. NextShark described the remarks as praise of Xi's "authoritarian rule"; the label is the outlet's.

youtube.com broadcast
Yahoo News article
Rogan acknowledged the irony, calling Xi both "brilliant" and "dangerous," but Trump pointed to "evil people" within the U.S.
youtube.com video

Sources: Public Broadcasting Service reliable · Yahoo News reliable · kyivindependent.com needs a second source

Rerun #14

Mar 2024 Orbán at Mar-a-Lago, "a great leader, fantastic leader"

On March 8, 2024, Trump hosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at Mar-a-Lago. Bloomberg, which said the remarks came from video Orbán posted on Instagram, reported Trump calling Orbán "a great leader, fantastic leader" and saying he "is a non-controversial figure because he says, 'this is the way it's going to be,' and that's the end of it… He's the boss." Bloomberg described the "non-controversial" line as a joke. A Biden administration official told CNN the White House had not invited Orbán, and that Orbán had not asked for a White House meeting during the trip. CNN's report referred to Trump's "history of embracing global strongmen." NBC News reported that former Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried noted it is highly unusual for a visiting head of state to meet a president's political opponent without also meeting White House officials.

CNN article
Bloomberg article
"He's the boss. No - he's a great leader, fantastic leader."

Sources: CNN reliable · NBC News reliable · Bloomberg reliable

Rerun #13

Feb 2022 Trump calls Putin's Ukraine moves "genius" and "savvy" (Feb. 2022)

On The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, aired Feb. 22, 2022, and recorded at Mar-a-Lago, Trump was asked about Russia recognizing two breakaway regions of Ukraine. He said: "I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius.'" He added: "Here's a guy who's very savvy… I know him very well." NPR gives the context. On the Monday before, Putin had recognized the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk and ordered Russian troops to carry out "peacekeeping" operations there. That same Tuesday, President Biden called the troop movement "the beginning of a Russian invasion" and announced sanctions. In the same answer Trump said the move "never would have happened" had he been in office, and he criticized Biden's response. A Washington Post analysis placed the remarks in a longer record of Trump's praise for Putin.

clayandbuck.com broadcast
You gotta say that's pretty savvy. And you know what the response was from Biden? There was no response.
NPR article
Former President Donald Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin's moves in Ukraine, calling him "savvy,"
The Washington Post article
Harrington's clip didn't include all of that about how Putin's move was "genius" and "smart" and "savvy,"
youtube.com video

Sources: NPR reliable · The Washington Post reliable · Snopes reliable · clayandbuck.com needs a second source

Rerun #12

Sep 2020 Woodward's Rage tape, "the tougher and meaner they are" (Erdoğan)

In audio Woodward recorded for Rage and played on NBC's "Today" on Sept. 14, 2020, Trump said: "I get along very well with Erdogan even though you're not supposed to, because everyone says, 'What a horrible guy.'" He went on: "the tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them" (HuffPost, Axios). Axios linked the remark to criticism Trump "has often faced" for "his warm relations and praise for authoritarian leaders like Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman." Axios also noted his "more confrontational relationship" with allies like Germany and South Korea. On air, Woodward said Trump had decided to "get along with Putin," the Saudi crown prince and Kim Jong Un, and that he "smears South Korea time and time again." Woodward summed up Trump's position as: "Hey look, I get along with these bad guys, but not the good guys."

today.com article
I get along very well with Erdogan, even though you're not supposed to because everyone says what a horrible guy, but for me it works out good
Axios article
It's funny, the relationships I have, the tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them.
HuffPost article
I get along very well with Erdogan even though you're not supposed to, because everyone says, 'What a horrible guy,'

Sources: today.com needs a second source · Axios reliable · HuffPost needs a second source · foreign.senate.gov needs a second source

Rerun #11

Nov 2019 "I'm a big fan" of Erdoğan (White House visit)

At a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the White House East Room on November 13, 2019, Trump said: "I'm a big fan of the president, to tell you that, and I know that the ceasefire, while complicated is moving forward, and moving forward at a very rapid clip" (CBS News). CBS reported that the visit came weeks after Turkey attacked U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in Syria. That offensive started in October after Trump ordered U.S. troops withdrawn. CBS also reported that some House Foreign Affairs Committee members, including some Republicans, had asked Trump to cancel the invitation. CBS's headline called Erdoğan a "Turkey strongman" and its story called him "the authoritarian leader." Defense One's executive editor, writing a commentary piece, called him "the autocratic Turkish leader" and described Trump as "long known for praising authoritarian leaders."

cbsnews.com article
I'm a big fan of the president, to tell you that, and I know that the ceasefire, while complicated is moving forward, and moving forward at a very rapid clip
defenseone.com article
'I'm a big fan of the president,' Donald Trump said of his guest Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the autocratic Turkish leader whose military and allies recently chased American troops and partners from northern Syria.
c-span.org video Watch
I'm a big fan of the president, to tell you that, and I know that the ceasefire, while complicated is moving forward, and moving forward at a very rapid clip.

Sources: cbsnews.com reliable · defenseone.com needs a second source · rollingstone.com needs a second source · trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov reliable

Rerun #10

Sep 2019 "Where's my favorite dictator?" (reported remark at the G7 summit in Biarritz)

On Sept. 13, 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that while looking for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the August G7 summit in Biarritz, Trump called out "Where's my favorite dictator?" (as quoted by Axios, Times of Israel and Rolling Stone). Moments later, in remarks reporters observed, Trump said of Sisi: "We understood each other very well. He's a very tough man, I will tell you that. But he's also a good man, and he's done a fantastic job in Egypt. Not easy." (Daily Caller and Rolling Stone). The Times of Israel tied the episode to the thread directly: "Like with Sissi, Trump has been vocal in his praise of other authoritarian leaders, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and North Korea's Kim-Jong Un."

Axios article
Trump is untroubled by the idea of partnering with authoritarians, but his remark was "met by a stunned silence" according to the WSJ
timesofisrael.com article
numerous American and Egyptian officials were in the room when Trump called out "where's my favorite dictator?" some of whom heard the question.
dailycaller.com article
We understood each other very well. He's a very tough man, I will tell you that. But he's also a good man, and he's done a fantastic job in Egypt. Not easy,

Sources: Axios reliable · timesofisrael.com needs a second source · dailycaller.com needs a second source · rollingstone.com needs a second source

Rerun #9

Sep 2018 – Oct 2018 Trump says he and Kim Jong Un "fell in love"

On Sept. 29, 2018, at a West Virginia rally for Republican Senate candidate and state attorney general Patrick Morrisey, Trump said of Kim Jong Un: "I was really being tough and so was he, and we would go back and forth. And then we fell in love. No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters" (Global News; CNBC has similar wording). SCMP reported the remark came "hours after Pyongyang's top diplomat said there was 'no way' the country would disarm under current conditions." CNBC reported that denuclearization talks had stalled more than three months after the June Singapore summit. According to Global News, Trump had thanked Kim for his "courage" at the UN General Assembly that same week. At the rally he also predicted how the press would react: "They'll say, 'Donald Trump said they fell in love, how horrible.'"

globalnews.ca article
I was really being tough and so was he, and we would go back and forth. And then we fell in love. No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters.
scmp.com article
"He wrote me beautiful letters," Trump said of Kim Saturday during a rally in Wheeling, West Virginia. "And they're great letters. We fell in love."
cnbc.com article
He joked about criticism he would get from the news media for making a comment some would consider "unpresidential" and for being so positive about the North Korean leader.
c-span.org video Watch
We fell in love. No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters.

Sources: scmp.com needs a second source · globalnews.ca needs a second source · cnbc.com reliable · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source

Rerun #8

Jul 2018 Helsinki press conference

After a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, 2018, a reporter asked Trump at their joint press conference whether he believed Putin or US intelligence about interference in the 2016 election. Trump answered: "I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today." He called "an incredible offer" what he described as Putin offering "to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators with respect to the 12 people." Earlier in the same press conference he said of Putin, "a good competitor he is," and called the word "competitor" "a compliment." CBS News reported that his remarks conflicted with US intelligence findings, saying "it overlooks Friday's special counsel indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking." The next day, PolitiFact reported, he said: "In a key sentence in my remarks, I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't.'"

trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov statement
So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.
cbsnews.com article
President Trump seemed to side with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
PolitiFact article
In a key sentence in my remarks, I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't,'

Sources: trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · PolitiFact reliable

Rerun #7

Jun 2018 After Singapore, "His people sit up at attention"

On June 15, 2018, days after the Singapore summit with Kim Jong Un, Trump told "Fox & Friends" that Kim is "the strong head" of his country and that "He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same." When reporters asked about it soon afterward, he said he was "kidding" and that they didn't "understand sarcasm." CNN reported that since the summit he had also called Kim "funny," "smart," "very talented" and someone who "loves his people." Asked the same day why he would not criticize Kim's human rights record, Trump said he did not want to "see a nuclear weapon destroy you and your family."

cbsnews.com article
He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.
CNN article
Later Friday, Trump told reporters at the White House his remark was a joke.
Time article
What followed was a 30-minute one-on-one interview with Doocy.
youtube.com video

He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.

Sources: CNN reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · cnbc.com reliable · Time reliable

Rerun #6

Mar 2018 Trump congratulates Putin on his re-election ("DO NOT CONGRATULATE")

On March 20, 2018, speaking in the Oval Office during a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump said: "I had a call with President Putin and congratulated him on the victory, his electoral victory." He called the call "very good" and said they would probably meet "in the not too distant future" (CNN). The next day he defended the call on Twitter: "Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing." He added that Bush "didn't have the 'smarts'" and that Obama and Clinton "didn't have the energy or chemistry" (CNN, CNBC). An AP report carried by PBS said the call "fit a Trump White House pattern of declining to chide authoritarian regimes for undemocratic practices."

CNN article
"I had a call with President Putin and congratulated him on the victory, his electoral victory,"
Public Broadcasting Service article
Aides included a section in Trump's briefing materials for his Tuesday morning phone call to Putin stating: "DO NOT CONGRATULATE,"
cnbc.com article
"I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory (in past, Obama called him also). The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him."
youtube.com video

Sources: Public Broadcasting Service reliable · CNN reliable · CNN reliable · cnbc.com reliable

Rerun #5

Mar 2018 Trump on Xi's "president for life": "Maybe we'll give that a shot some day"

On March 3, 2018, at a closed-door lunch and fundraiser for Republican donors at Mar-a-Lago, Trump praised Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to a recording CNN obtained, he said: "He's now president for life. President for life. And he's great… I think it's great. Maybe we'll give that a shot some day." The context, per Newsweek/Reuters: China's Communist Party had announced on Feb. 25 that it would end the two-term limit for the president, and the parliament was expected to approve the change at its session opening Monday, March 5. In the same remarks Trump called Xi "a great gentleman" and "the most powerful (Chinese) president in a hundred years," and said Xi had treated him "tremendously well" during Trump's visit to China in November.

CNN article
"He's now president for life. President for life. And he's great," Trump said. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll give that a shot some day."
Public Broadcasting Service article
Trump's remarks were met with laughter and applause during a luncheon for Republican donors Saturday at his South Florida estate.
Newsweek (pre–2013) article
It is not clear if Trump, 71, was making the comment about extending presidential service in jest.
youtube.com video

Sources: CNN reliable · Public Broadcasting Service reliable · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · Fox News needs a second source

Rerun #4

Apr 2017 Kim "a pretty smart cookie" (CBS "Face the Nation")

In the interview, CBS's John Dickerson asked "What do you make of the North Korean leader?" Trump said Kim "was a young man of 26 or 27 when he took over" and "was able to assume power," and concluded, "So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie" (CBS transcript). The interview was taped one day after North Korea test-launched what US officials called a short-range ballistic missile, which United Nations sanctions prohibit (NBC, ITV). In the same interview Trump called China's President Xi "a man that I've gotten to like and respect" and "a very respected man" (CBS). NBC's headline and lead focused on the Kim remark, calling it praise for "the North Korean despot." ITV in the UK also ran it as the headline.

cbsnews.com article
"People are saying, 'Is he sane?' I have no idea." … "So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie."
NBC News article
President Donald Trump labeled brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un "a pretty smart cookie" in a wide-ranging interview aired Sunday.
itv.com article
President Trump made the comments about the North Korean leader taking office at the age of 27 - but said he had "no idea" if he was sane.
youtube.com video

at a very young age, he was able to assume power

Sources: cbsnews.com reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · NBC News reliable · itv.com needs a second source

Rerun #3

Feb 2017 "You think our country is so innocent?" (Fox News interview with Bill O'Reilly)

In the interview, which aired Feb. 5, 2017, Trump said of Vladimir Putin, "I do respect him." When O'Reilly called Putin a killer, Trump replied that "there are a lot of killers" and asked whether O'Reilly thought "our country is so innocent." AP reports Trump tied the relationship to fighting ISIS, saying "if Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS… that's a good thing." CBS wrote that Trump "appeared to equate the foreign power's morality with the U.S." Senate Republicans including McConnell, Rubio and Sasse publicly disagreed, and NBC News reported that Pence, on "Meet the Press," denied that Trump was trying to draw a moral equivalency.

Fox News broadcast
There are a lot of killers. Do you think our country is so innocent? Do you think our country is so innocent?
Public Broadcasting Service article
There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country's so innocent?
inquirer.com article
I do respect him. Well, I respect a lot of people, but that doesn't mean I'll get along with them,
youtube.com video

There are a lot of killers. Do you think our country is so innocent?

Sources: Public Broadcasting Service reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · NBC News reliable · inquirer.com needs a second source

Rerun #2

Sep 2016 Putin "a leader, far more than our president has been a leader" (NBC Commander-in-Chief Forum)

At NBC's forum on September 7, 2016, Trump said of Putin: "The man has very strong control over a country… It's a very different system and I don't happen to like the system, but certainly, in that system, he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader" (NBC News; RFE/RL). He cited Putin's "82 percent approval rating" and said he expected a "very very good relationship" with him. He also said, "If he says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him" (NBC News). NBC News reported that Trump defended Putin from criticism over the annexation of Crimea and his support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad. RFE/RL reported that Trump repeated his wish to work with Russia to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. RFE/RL explained that Putin had called Trump "yarkiy" the previous December, a word some outlets translated as "brilliant." NBC noted that Putin denied using that phrase.

NBC News article
"The man has very strong control over a country," Trump said of Putin.
NBC News article
it is scary because it suggests he will let Putin do whatever Putin wants to do.
The Hill article
I think it's inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country
youtube.com video

Sources: NBC News reliable · rferl.org needs a second source · salon.com needs a second source · The Hill reliable

Rerun #1

Jan 2016 Kim Jong Un "you've got to give him credit" (Ottumwa, Iowa)

At a campaign rally in Ottumwa, Iowa, on January 9, 2016, Trump said of Kim Jong Un: "this guy, he's like a maniac, OK? And you have to give him credit." He went on to say Kim took over "these tough generals" when he was "like 26 or 25" and "He wiped out the uncle" (FactCheck.org transcript). ABC News wrote that Trump "appeared to praise" Kim. FactCheck.org disputed whether the remarks were praise: it noted that Trump called Kim a "maniac" and framed his rise as a reason to treat North Korea as a serious threat, and that three days before the rally, on "Fox and Friends," Trump called Kim a "madman." Clinton later called the January remarks "heaping praise on a dangerous dictator," and NBC News listed them in a mid-2016 roundup of times Trump praised leaders it called "authoritarian."

ABC News article
Trump called Jong-Un a "maniac" during remarks about North Korea's nuclear program during a rally at Ottumwa, Iowa, but conceded, "You gotta give him credit."

Sources: ABC News reliable · factcheck.org reliable · NBC News reliable