In a rare moment of admiration for foreign counterparts, US President Donald Trump lauded Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a CBS News interview aired Sunday. Describing both leaders as “smart, tough, and serious,” Trump drew no distinction between the two, calling them equally formidable on the world stage.
‘They’re Not People To Be Toyed With’
When asked which leader he found tougher to deal with, Putin or Xi, Trump declined to pick one over the other.
“Both tough. Both smart,” he told CBS. “They’re very strong leaders. These are people not to be toyed with. You have to take them seriously. They’re not walking in saying, ‘Oh, isn’t it a beautiful day?’ These are serious people, tough, smart leaders.”
The comments mark one of Trump’s few public gestures of praise for the Chinese and Russian presidents in recent months, as tensions continue to rise across both the Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe.
‘We Get Along Great,’ Trump Says Of Xi Jinping
Reflecting on his meeting with Xi Jinping in South Korea, Trump said he had always shared what he described as a “good relationship” with the Chinese leader.
“We get along great, and we always really have,” he said. “He is a powerful man, a strong man, and a very powerful leader.”
Trump also discussed the impact of his trade policies on global markets, admitting that the tariffs he imposed on Chinese goods caused economic ripples but defended them as necessary leverage in negotiations.
“It hurt because I was taking in a lot of money from China,” he said. “We were doing very well against China. Then they said, ‘We have to fight back.’ Their power is rare earth, something they’ve been building up for 25, 30 years.”
Despite the escalating trade war, which saw tariffs exceed 100 percent, Trump said he later agreed to cut tariffs by 10 percent after talks with Xi in Busan.
Trump Pushes For Ukraine Ceasefire, Praises Putin’s Leadership
Turning to Russia, Trump reiterated his long-standing claim that President Putin “will listen to him,” asserting that the ongoing war in Ukraine could have been avoided had he remained in office.
“The war would have never started if I had been re-elected,” Trump said, again blaming his successor, Joe Biden, for what he called a “stupid war.”
The US president also explained his approach to dealing with Moscow, saying he preferred to use sanctions against Russia rather than tariffs. While outlining this strategy, Trump offered another unexpected compliment to the Russian leader, describing Putin as a “great leader” who wants to “make a whole lotta money” for his country.
