Trump Praises World Tyrants: Xi A 'Brilliant Man'; Putin 'Very Smart'; Kim 'Top Of The Line'

Former President Donald Trump did not hold back his praises to some of the world's authoritarian leaders in a new media appearance.

In his interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Trump shared his admiration for the leadership styles of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

"They're all top of the line," Trump said.

The former president described Xi as a "brilliant man" and recalled meeting with him in his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida in 2017.

"President Xi is a brilliant man... The look, the brain, the whole thing. We had a great relationship," Trump said.

"You know, when he first came to Mar-a-Lago, it was so organized by them and by us, but by them very pom, pom, pom," he added.

Trump also shared that his meeting with the Chinese leader was supposed to take 15 minutes, but it lasted four hours, saying, "We got along so well."

The former president also praised Kim for being a "top of the line" and "very tough" leader.

"People ask how smart is Kim Jong Un? Kim Jong Un is smart too," Trump said.

He also gushed about Kim's "total dominate control" of North Korea.

Trump met the North Korean leader thrice during his time as president.

The two leaders met for the first time in Singapore in 2018, followed by another summit in Vietnam in February 2019 and the third and last was in the Korean demilitarized zone in June 2019.

In his last meeting with Kim, Trump set foot in North Korea, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to cross the armistice line separating the two Korean countries.

Despite the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Trump has continued to boast about his admiration for Putin.

The former president called Putin "very smart," echoing his past remarks regarding the Russian president during the first days of the war.

Trump believes Ukraine "can't beat Russia," noting that the former Soviet country continues to make massive amounts of ammunition to sustain its war on the Ukrainian battlefield.

The former president also claimed that the U.S. is "not prepared to fight" Russia after the Biden administration provided Ukraine with military assistance.

In 2018, Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University, told the Washington Post that Trump had "dictator envy," arguing that the former president is attracted to talking with authoritarian rulers who could lead their countries for life.

Eliot Cohen, a former senior State Department official under the Bush administration, claimed the former president "has classic traits of the authoritarian leader."

Cohen said that Trump always desires to be seen as a strong and respected leader.