Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour this week that President-elect Donald Trump struck her as always being fascinated by the “sheer power” of Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – who do not have to consult a parliament in order to take action.

“I remember very distinctly when Donald Trump was first elected. You did one– You were the only one to actually welcome his election conditionally. In other words, based on the respect and the adherence to mutual values, democracy, freedom, diversity, rule of law, human rights, etc…” began Amanpour, adding:

And I just wonder whether you thought he did act in that way, and especially because you said he was clearly fascinated by the Russian president. In the years that followed, I received the distinct impression that he was captivated by politicians with autocratic and dictatorial traits. How did that manifest itself to you?

“Well, in the way that he spoke about Putin, the way that he spoke about the North Korean president, obviously, apart from critical remarks he made, there was always a kind of fascination at the sheer power of what these people could do,” replied Merkel, who ran German from 2005 to 2021.

“So my impression always was that he dreamt of actually overriding maybe all those parliamentary bodies that he felt were in a way, an encumbrance upon him and that he wanted to decide matters on his own. And in a democracy, well, you cannot reconcile that with democratic values,” she concluded.

Merkel is currently promoting her new book, “Freedom: Memoirs 1954 – 2021,” and recalled to CBS’s Sunday Morning how she felt after meeting Trump for the first time during his first term.

“I left being convinced that multilateral cooperation would be difficult with Donald Trump,” Merkel said. “You can make deals with Donald Trump because he always thinks in terms of advantage and disadvantage. But in my experience, win-win situations are not only good for one side, but for both sides. That’s not really his way of thinking.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

The post Merkel Tells CNN Trump Has a ‘Fascination’ With the ‘Sheer Power’ Of Dictators: ‘He Dreamt of Actually Overriding’ Congress first appeared on Mediaite.

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