‘Smartest one gets to the top’: Trump again praises Putin at Georgia rally

Ex-president also had warm words for Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un at event as primary races heat up before midterms elections


Edward HelmoreSun 27 Mar 2022 10.55 EDTFirst published on Sat 26 Mar 2022 14.09 EDT


Donald Trump chose a rally in Georgia on Saturday night once again to praise Vladimir Putin, calling the Russian president “smart” even as he said the invasion of Ukraine amounted to a “big mistake”.

The Republican former president also had warm words for China’s president Xi Jinping and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and referred to such leaders collectively by saying: “The smartest one gets to the top.”

He spoke admiringly of Xi...he “runs 1.5 billion people with an iron fist” and referred to Kim as “tough”.

Then of Putin, Trump told the crowd: “They asked me if Putin is smart. Yes, Putin was smart.”

He also praised Russia’s strategy of a huge accumulation of military force on its border with Ukraine prior to invading, even if the war is not going well for the aggressor.

“That’s a hell of a way to negotiate, put 200,000 troops on the border…That was a big mistake, but it looked like a great negotiation. That didn’t work out too well for him,” Trump said.

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