To Donald Trump, Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban is 鈥渇antastic,鈥 Chinese leader is 鈥渂rilliant,鈥 North Korea鈥檚 is 鈥渁n OK guy,鈥 and, most alarmingly, he allegedly said 鈥渄id some good things,鈥 a worldview that would reverse decades-old U.S. foreign policy in a second term should he win November鈥檚 presidential election, multiple former senior advisers told CNN.
鈥淗e thought Putin was an OK guy and Kim was an OK guy 鈥 that we had pushed North Korea into a corner,鈥 retired Gen. John Kelly, who served as Trump鈥檚 chief of staff, told me. 鈥淭o him, it was like we were goading these guys. 鈥業f we didn鈥檛 have NATO, then Putin wouldn鈥檛 be doing these things.鈥欌
File photo of then White House chief of staff John Kelly listening as Trump speaks during a meeting on tax policy with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Oct. 31, 2017, in Washington (Evan Vucci / AP Photo)
Trump鈥檚 lavish praise for Hungarian Prime Minister Orb谩n while on Friday, just days after all but sealing the Republican nomination on , shows it鈥檚 a worldview he鈥檚 doubling down on.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nobody that鈥檚 better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orb谩n,鈥 Trump said, adding, 鈥淗e鈥檚 the boss and he鈥檚 a great leader, fantastic leader. In Europe and around the world, they respect him.鈥
The former president鈥檚 admiration for autocrats has been reported on before, but in comments by Trump recounted to me for my new book, out Tuesday, Kelly and others who served under Trump give new insight into why they warn that a man who consistently praises autocratic leaders opposed to U.S. interests is ill-suited to lead the country in the Great Power clashes that could be coming, telling me they believe that the root of his admiration for these figures is that he envies their power.
鈥淗e views himself as a big guy,鈥 John Bolton, who served as national security adviser under Trump, told me. 鈥淗e likes dealing with other big guys, and big guys like Erdogan in Turkey get to put people in jail and you don鈥檛 have to ask anybody鈥檚 permission. He kind of likes that.鈥
鈥淗e鈥檚 not a tough guy by any means, but in fact quite the opposite,鈥 Kelly said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 how he envisions himself.鈥
Trump allegedly reserved some of his most unnerving praise for Hitler, who led Nazi Germany during World War II.
鈥淗e said, 鈥榃ell, but Hitler did some good things.鈥 I said, 鈥榃ell, what?鈥 And he said, 鈥榃ell, [Hitler] rebuilt the economy.鈥 But what did he do with that rebuilt economy? He turned it against his own people and against the world. And I said, 鈥楽ir, you can never say anything good about the guy. Nothing,鈥欌 Kelly recounted. 鈥淚 mean, Mussolini was a great guy in comparison.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty hard to believe he missed the Holocaust, though, and pretty hard to understand how he missed the 400,000 American GIs that were killed in the European theater,鈥 Kelly told me. 鈥淏ut I think it鈥檚 more, again, the tough guy thing.鈥
Trump鈥檚 admiration for Hitler went further than the German leader鈥檚 economic policies, according to Kelly. Trump also expressed admiration for Hitler鈥檚 hold on senior Nazi officers. Trump lamented that Hitler, as Kelly recounted, maintained his senior staff鈥檚 鈥渓oyalty,鈥 while Trump himself often did not.
鈥淗e would ask about the loyalty issues and about how, when I pointed out to him the German generals as a group were not loyal to him, and in fact tried to assassinate him a few times, and he didn鈥檛 know that,鈥 Kelly recalled. 鈥淗e truly believed, when he brought us generals in, that we would be loyal 鈥 that we would do anything he wanted us to do,鈥 Kelly told me.
When asked to respond to the allegations from the former Trump administration officials, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not comment on the substance of what they told me but stated, 鈥淛ohn Kelly and John Bolton have completely beclowned themselves and are suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. They need to seek professional help because their hatred is consuming their empty lives.鈥
In 2021, a spokeswoman for Trump that the former president had praised Hitler.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates responded to Trump鈥檚 alleged praise for Hitler in a statement on Tuesday, saying that Biden has called the Nazi leader a 鈥渄emonic figure.鈥
鈥淣o American should ever praise the genocidal monster who committed the Holocaust. Just like it is incumbent on all leaders not to associate with Neo Nazis and Holocaust deniers. Hundreds of thousands of American service members 鈥 heroes, not 鈥榮uckers鈥 or 鈥榣osers鈥 鈥 gave their lives to defeat that evil. Admiring Hitler is an insult to their memory. President Biden is committed to bringing all Americans together based on our shared values,鈥 Bates said.
Trump鈥檚 former advisers say he most consistently lavished praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bolton recalled a comment from Trump during the 2018 NATO summit. Following sometimes tense encounters with NATO leaders, Trump said his meeting with Putin, the leader of America鈥檚 great power adversary, 鈥渕ay be the easiest of them all. Who would think?鈥
File photo of U.S. President Donald Trump leaving the G7 Leaders Summit in La Malbaie, Que., on June 9, 2018., with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, left, and National Security Adviser John Bolton (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
鈥淗e says to the press as he goes out to the helicopter, 鈥業 think the easiest meeting might be with Vladimir Putin. Who would ever think that?鈥欌 recalled Bolton. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an answer to that question. Only one person. You. You are the only person who would think that. The shrinks can make of that what they will, but I think it was 鈥業鈥檓 a big guy. They鈥檙e big guys. I wish I could act like they do.鈥欌
鈥淢y theory on why he likes the dictators so much is that鈥檚 who he is,鈥 Kelly said. 鈥淓very incoming president is shocked that they actually have so little power without going to the Congress, which is a good thing. It鈥檚 Civics 101, separation of powers, three equal branches of government. But in his case, he was shocked that he didn鈥檛 have dictatorial-type powers to send U.S. forces places or to move money around within the budget. And he looked at Putin and Xi and that nutcase in North Korea as people who were like him in terms of being a tough guy.鈥
鈥淭rump believed in the power of his personal charisma and diplomacy,鈥 recalled Matthew Pottinger, his deputy national security adviser, who was deeply involved in Trump鈥檚 meetings with North Korean leader Kim and Chinese President Xi. 鈥淗e had almost unlimited faith in it. That was as true with Kim as it was with Xi 鈥 but also with allies too.鈥
Trump has continued to praise authoritarians in his 2024 presidential campaign.
At a town hall organized by Fox News in July 2023, Trump said, 鈥淭hink of President Xi: central casting, brilliant guy. When I say he鈥檚 brilliant, everyone says, 鈥極h, that鈥檚 terrible.鈥 He runs 1.4 billion people with an iron fist: smart, brilliant, everything perfect. There is nobody in Hollywood like this guy.鈥
In an interview with Fox that same month, Trump lavished praise on Putin as well, describing him as smarter than President Joe Biden. 鈥淭hese are smart people, including Macron of France. I could go through the whole list of people, including Putin .鈥 These people are sharp, tough, and generally vicious,鈥 Trump said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e vicious, and they鈥檙e at the top of their game. We have a man that has no clue what鈥檚 happening. It鈥檚 the most dangerous time in the history of our country.鈥
Trump鈥檚 affinity for authoritarians represents a defining issue for the U.S. as the 2024 election approaches. Several of his own former advisers believe, in a second term, he would bring a fundamental shift in the U.S.鈥 vision of itself and its role in the world, including potentially and reducing the U.S.鈥 commitment to other defense alliances.
鈥淣ATO would be in real jeopardy,鈥 Bolton told me. 鈥淚 think he would try to get out.鈥
Many veterans of the Trump administration have a similar warning for Ukraine as it battles Russia鈥檚 invasion. 鈥淯.S. support for Ukraine would end,鈥 said a senior U.S. official who served under Trump and Biden.
鈥淭he point is, he saw absolutely no point in NATO,鈥 Kelly said. 鈥淗e was just dead set against having troops in South Korea, again, a deterrent force, or having troops in Japan, a deterrent force.鈥
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