Trump Was Asked Who's "Tougher" To Deal With Between Putin, Xi. His Reply

US President Donald Trump was all praise for his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, when asked who among the two global leaders was tougher to deal with. The American commander-in-chief acknowledged that both leaders were strong and intelligent men who shouldn't be trifled with. 

Talking to CBS, Trump also doubled down on his claim of solving eight wars, saying the only conflict he hasn't been able to stop was the one in Ukraine, but "that'll happen". 

What Trump said

"Before the ninth month, I stopped eight wars. The only one I haven't been successful yet in, and- and that'll happen- is Russia Ukraine, which I thought actually would be the easiest one because I have a very good relationship with President Putin," he said during an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes. 

"We are respected again as a country, and that's the way I've been able to stop the wars. I also stopped them because of trade."

When asked, "Who's tougher to deal with, Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping?" Trump said, both leaders are tough and smart.

"Look, they're both very strong leaders. These are people not to be toyed with. These are people you have to take very serious. They're not-- they're not walking in saying, "Oh, isn't it a beautiful day? Look how beautiful. The sun is shining, it's so nice." These are serious people. These are people that are tough, smart leaders," he said. 

The US head of state admitted that both Russia and China have large stockpiles of nuclear weapons and claimed he discussed the issue of denuclearisation with leaders of both nations.

"I believe we need to do something about denuclearisation, and I have indeed discussed it with both President Putin and President Xi," the American leader said. 

Confirming his plans to conduct nuclear tests, Trump said, "We need to see how it works. The reason I talk about tests is that Russia has announced its intention to test, North Korea tests constantly, and so do other countries. We are the only country that does not test."

When reminded that Moscow was only testing delivery systems, not nuclear weapons, Trump claimed both Russia and China are conducting such tests, "but they are not talking about it."