Trump Jr. Claims His Father Praised Leaders Like Putin To Play Them 'Like A Fiddle'

Donald Trump Jr. says his father knows exactly what he is doing when he showers world leaders like Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping and North Korea's Kim Jong Un with praises. According to the 44-year-old, ex-president Donald Trump praised dictators because he "knew exactly how to play these guys."

Trump Jr. defended his father in a Rumble video posted Wednesday and claimed that cajoling authoritarians like Putin was part of Trump's elaborate plan to appease them, according to The Hill.

Talking about the people criticizing his father, Trump Jr. describes them as "some nerd in his mom's basement who's never dealt with anything, never actually had any power, never understood those people."

"So my father understands that, you know, men will blow up deals over ego. I've seen it my whole life, and my father's certainly seen it. Because he's dealt with powerful, egotistical people his entire life. He's built a brand around dealing with those people. World leaders aren't any different," Trump Jr. said, as quoted by Insider.

Trump recently called Putin’s decision to send military forces into Ukraine "genius" and "savvy" during an appearance on a conservative radio talk show in February.

"I knew Putin very well. I got along with him great. He liked me. I liked him," Trump added on the show.

The ex-president’s comments took a drastic shift a few days later when he called the situation in Ukraine a "holocaust."

“They have to stop killing these people. They’re killing all these people, and they have to stop it,” Trump said in the interview with Fox News.

The ex-president also reportedly made closed-door remarks about Xi Jinping after China announced in 2018 that it was eliminating the two-term limit for the presidency, allowing Xi to rule indefinitely.

"He's now president for life. President for life. No, he's great," Trump said, according to a recording obtained by CNN. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot some day."

U.S. Representative Ro Khanna tweeted about Trump's remarks at the time.

Apart from calling Xi a great man, Trump has also lauded North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un for being a “tough guy.”

“He's a very smart guy. He's a great negotiator. But I think we understand each other,” the former president had said, according to Business Insider.

While Trump has repeatedly showered praises on authoritarians, his son claimed this was not an act of "capitulation."

"He knew exactly how to play these guys, and he played it like a fiddle," Trump Jr. said in the Rumble video.