OTTUMWA, Iowa — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Saturday that people need to give North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un “credit” for the way he’s assumed power in the totalitarian state.
Trump told a packed crowd at the Bridge View Center that it’s “incredible” how the third generation leader of the police state taken over the country since his father, Kim Jong Il passed away. Trump noted the young leader has “wiped out” all challengers.
“When you look at North Korea, this guy, he’s like a maniac. And you gotta give him credit,” Trump said. “How many young guys who are like 26 or 25 … take over these tough jobs and all of the sudden — you know, it’s pretty amazing when you think of it.”
“But he goes in and takes over. He’s the boss. It’s incredible,” Trump continued. “He wiped out the uncle. He wiped out this one, that one. This guy doesn’t play games, and we can’t play games with him because he really does have missiles.”
Trump drew attacks from many Republicans last month when he welcomed support from Russian President Vladimir Putin and praised Putin’s leadership ablility.
The real estate mogul’s comments come a day after he told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren that the North Korean dictator has “something going for him.”
“It’s a serious problem because he’s probably on the wacky side, he certainly, he could be a total nut job frankly,” Trump said, pointing to the possible hydrogen bomb test by the North Koreans last week. “I mean it’s amazing that young guy would go over and take over you know you would have thought this tough generals would have said no way this is gonna happen when the father died, so he’s gotta have something going for him because he kept control which is amazing for a young person to do.”
Trump’s stop was the first of two in Iowa on Saturday. He was set to speak in Clear Lake later.
Trump currently sits at No. 2 in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings.
