Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump described the authoritarian leaders of Russia and China in glowing terms at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on July 20.
The speech marked Trump's first campaign event since he survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 14.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are "smart, tough," leaders who "love their country," Trump said during the course of a lengthy speech.
The comments are similar to remarks Trump made shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At a rally in March 2022, weeks after the invasion, he praised Putin's intelligence.
"They asked me if Putin is smart. Yes, Putin was smart," Trump said.
During the July 20 rally, Trump claimed that Xi reached out to him with words of support following the assassination attempt.
"(Xi) wrote me a beautiful note the other day when he heard about what happened," Trump said.
Trump also described Xi as "brilliant" and said "he controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist."
The campaign speech comes one day after Trump spoke with President Volodymyr Zelensky via phone in their first conversation since Trump left office.
Trump reportedly called it a "very good call," while sources close to Zelensky said the talk went "exceedingly well." Zelensky previously said that working with a Trump White House would be "hard work."
Trump's newly appointed running mate, outspoken Ukraine critic J.D. Vance, also spoke briefly at the rally before Trump took the podium.
Vance did not address the war in Ukraine directly, but said that if elected, he and Trump would work to end U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts that "are none of our business."
Timothy Ash
