Trump on Putin: 'Strong' doesn't necessarily mean good
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Trump tackles violence at rallies: I don't condone it
Donald Trump tackled questions about Putin, Muslims and recent violence at his campaign rallies during CNN's Republican debate.
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Donald Trump has been criticized for his seemingly kind words toward authoritarian leaders. At Thursday's debate at the University of Miami, however, he sought to dispel that as more a matter of semantics.
When asked about positive words he'd had for the Chinese government's response to the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989 or Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said his past remarks didn't mean he endorsed Putin or the Chinese leadership.
"Strong doesn't mean good," he said.
As for Putin, he maintained that he believed the Russian president was a "strong" leader.
“I don’t say that in a good way or a bad way. I say it as a fact.”