Fox News host Tucker Carlson conducted an interview with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening.
Carlson has now had several pro-Russian interviews in recent weeks.
Trump doubled down on his admiration for leaders of multiple U.S. adversaries. The interview comes a few days after Trump predicted that Russia would take over Ukraine – an outcome that would deal a sizeable blow to European democratic institutions.
He asked Trump about Vladimir Putin. Carlson asked on Tuesday, “How smart is he? Could you tell?”
“Putin, very smart,” Trump said. “Now, he’s had probably a bad year. Don’t forget, that whole thing is not if he took over all of Ukraine.”
Trump also praised Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
“How smart is Kim Jong Un? Top of the line. … really smart. You know, when you come out and as a young man at 24, 23, even though he sort of inherits it … he took over a country of very smart people, very, very energetic people, very tough people at a very young age and he has total dominant control.”
“Top of the line. Top line. They’re all top-of-the-line.”
