Trump Compares Vladimir Putin to “World-Class Chess Player”

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump has called Russia's Vladimir Putin, as well as the leaders of China, North Korea and Turkey "world-class chess players," arguing that his Democratic rival is nowhere near them.

"Look. One thing I’ve learnt: Putin, President Xi [Jinping] of China, Kim Jong Un, [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan of Turkey, they are world-class chess players," Trump said at a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Monday.

According to the US leader, Joe Biden will not be able to work with them as an equal partner, as he was not "very good" even "in his best years."

These countries and Iran, therefore, are "all dreaming of Joe Biden" as the next president, Trump asserted.

If elected, Biden will become the oldest sitting US president in history. He is four years older than Trump and will turn 78 in November.

Trump previously suggested that Putin is very fond of him, but is not interested in his further success as US president.

"He likes me, but I think he doesn’t want me to win the election", Trump said during an interview on the news program Full Measure in late May.

At the time, POTUS went on to suggest that China is also on the list of actors who want to see him lose his re-election bid this autumn. While he has not elaborated on this remark, Trump has taken an aggressive stance towards China of late, accusing its government of coving up information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump also initiated a trade war with Beijing in 2018, having introduced hefty tariffs on Chinese goods, thus prompting China to retaliate. Despite achieving a certain degree of success in negotiating a new trade deal, the US president recently suggested that Washington might undertake new economic actions against Beijing in light of alleged cover-ups related to the pandemic.

Trump has on numerous occasions claimed to have taken a "tough" stance towards Russia and even alleged that he was tougher on the country than any of his predecessors. These remarks were made amid continued allegations that Trump and his campaign had conspired with Russia in order to win the 2016 election in exchange for pursuing a more favorable policy towards Moscow.

Both Russia and the Trump team have vehemently denied the allegations. After a two-year investigation into the allegations against Trump and his team, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was tasked with the probe into the alleged collusion, concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the claims that such a conspiracy between Trump and Moscow ever existed.