The U.S. president praised his Russian and Chinese counterparts, calling them “tough” and “smart.”
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RT reports: Trump called Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping “very strong leaders” and “tough” and “smart” leaders who “are not to be toyed with.”
Trump made these remarks during a “60 Minutes” interview on CBS on Sunday — his first appearance on the program in five years — after he walked out of his previous interview, accusing the network of bias.
When asked by the interviewer who is tougher to deal with, Xi or Putin, Trump replied: "Both."
"Both tough. Both smart. They’re both very strong leaders. They're not people to be toyed with. You have to take them very seriously,” he said, adding that neither of them likes to engage in small talk.
They don't walk in and say, 'Oh, isn't it a beautiful day?' Look how beautiful. The sun is shining; it’s so nice.” These are serious people. They're tough, smart leaders," Trump said.
He later said that both Russia and China have large stockpiles of nuclear weapons and that he has discussed denuclearization with both nations.
Regarding US-China relations, Trump insisted that, despite challenges, he and the Chinese leader "get along great," and that, after months of tension, they reached a trade deal with which he is largely satisfied. "We have no rare-earth threat. We have tremendous amounts of dollars pouring in because we have very high tariffs, almost 50%."
Trump also reiterated that he has "a very good relationship" with Putin and blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the "stupid" Ukraine conflict.
"That war would never have happened if I were president," he said, adding that Putin acknowledged this as well.
He went on to repeat his claim that he has resolved eight wars since returning to the White House this year.
He reiterated his claim that he has resolved eight wars since returning to the White House this year, primarily by leveraging trade, and insisted that he can use the same approach to secure a ceasefire for Ukraine within a few months.
"We're going to get it done. Putin wants to come in, trade with us, and make a lot of money for Russia. I think that's great."