During a fawning interview with Donald Trump, Fox News host Mark Levin asked the former president about his relationships with world leaders that were “genocidal maniacs.”
Trump’s response? “The tougher they were, the better I got along with them.”
Levin asked the question during an interview promoting Trump’s new book, “Letters to Trump,” a collection of 150 private letters sent to him by international leaders, celebrities and other prominent figures.
Pointing to “fascinating letters” Trump had received from leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, China’s President Xi Jinping and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Levin said he had noticed “a common thread.”
“You had a personal relationship with every one of these leaders, whether they’re genocidal maniacs, whether they’re elected, like [Shinzo Abe] of Japan,” Levin said. “And I want to get into some of this. What would you say your foreign policy is? Because I think people keep projecting onto your foreign policy what it is that they think they want people to think your foreign policy is.”
Trump replied: “It was a very personal relationship and you know, sort of a weird situation. The tougher they were, the better I got along with them.”
“And that’s probably a good thing because it was the tough ones that had the big powerful countries, the ones that can do destruction,” he added.
As president, Trump was known for his deference to authoritarian leaders while alienating U.S. allies. He routinely celebrates the close relationships he shared with Xi, Kim, and Putin, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges. In another recent Fox News interview, Trump said the three men are “top of the line,” calling Xi a “brilliant man” and Kim and Putin “very smart.”