Former Sen. Rick Santorum on Thursday said that there’s some truth to the charge that President Donald Trump has become something of a “cult” leader — but he also said that we should be happy about this because it’s helping the president succeed.
In particular, Santorum defended Trump’s overt flattery of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by saying that the president’s natural charisma could convince Kim to give up his nuclear weapons.
“It is sort of a cult of personality,” he admitted. “Donald Trump believes that he can bring him into his sphere and work his magic and be able to get concessions and get North Korea to come and play ball with him. And he believes that. And he is going to use tactics, which is what you have seen here to ingratiate himself with Kim Jong-un, with the goal of trying to get a verifiable nuclear deal with them that they will comply with.”
Later in the panel, Santorum was asked if he would personally describe Kim as a “tough” and “smart” leader because his government kills and tortures its own citizens. Santorum said he definitely would never say that — but he also said that it’s okay for Trump to do it because he’s Trump.
“I don’t believe in my ability to befriend somebody and be able to convince them to do this,” Santorum said. “But here’s what I would say about Donald Trump. Donald Trump is obviously a very different leader for this country, and has done things in a very unorthodox way. I know a lot of people hate to admit it, but he has been successful beyond what people have imagined.”
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