Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio dismissed concerns about former President Trump’s praise of world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying there was “nothing wrong” with such comments.
CBS’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan pointed to comments the former president made about Xi Jinping and Putin at a rally in Montana last Friday, and pressed Vance whether he agreed with his assessment that the two were “nice people.”
“I think President Trump gets along well with world leaders,” Vance replied, “and there’s nothing wrong with praising them as people if it makes them more effective diplomatically.”
Brennan interjected, suggesting Trump’s comments were “not the same as going after Xi Jinping and taking him to court.”
“No, not actually, because you can legislate better if you have a good relationship with people and trust that people will follow your word, as President Trump has,” Vance said. “Let’s not forget that Democrats, including Kamala Harris, attacked Donald Trump for having a good relationship with Vladimir Putin.”
Trump’s comments about Xi Jinping and other foreign leaders have at times been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike for being too friendly toward authoritarian leaders.
Former PresidentLast year, XiHe said he was “intelligent, intelligent and perfect in every way” and that he was running China with an “iron front”.
Trump has made similar comments about Putin.Last year, he claimedhe” [Putin’s] He turned his “eye” on the president during his tenure.
Vance on Sunday repeated Trump’s standard refrain that Putin did not invade other countries during his term, and sought to draw a contrast with the Russia-Ukraine war that has erupted under the Biden administration.
“Vladimir Putin didn’t invade other countries when Donald Trump was president. He did when Kamala Harris was vice president,” he said. “So maybe we should take a lesson from Trump’s prayer book on diplomatic legitimacy, because I think Donald Trump got a lot done because world leaders respected him.”
