Former President Donald Trump is infamous for his open admiration for Russia's Vladimir Putin, and even for his occasional praise of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
But he has also made similar comments about China's Xi Jinping, and reiterated them in an interview this week with Fox News' Tucker Carlson, calling him "brilliant" — much to the chagrin of conservative commentator and longtime Trump skeptic Charlie Sykes, who analyzed the latest remarks in the Bulwark on Wednesday.
"Indicted felon Donald Trump returned to Fox News last night, and FAWNED on some of the world’s most brutal dictators. Because, of course," wrote Sykes. "Watching the video is bad enough. Reading the actual transcript is a wild ride through the recesses of the former president’s mind."
Sykyes in particular focused in on when Trump told Carlson, "President Xi is a brilliant man. If you went all over Hollywood to look for somebody to play the role of President Xi, you couldn’t find, there’s nobody like that," and “Top of the line. Smart. Top of the line. When they came in, it was supposed to be a meeting that lasted exactly 15 minutes." Trump also added that Putin and Kim are also "smart" and that "you can't beat Russia."
"War crimes? Genocide? Murders? Not something that the GOP front-runner seems to care about," said Sykes. "But we knew that, didn’t we?"
Trump's few current or potential Republican challengers have not gone this far in praising dictators, although Gov. Ron DeSantis had to flip-flop after claiming the Ukraine invasion was a "territorial dispute" the United States can't be perpetually involved in.