Pat Buchanan, the far-right politician who one has commentator called “the John the Baptist of Donald Trump,” said yesterday that he was “elated” about Trump’s recent speech on immigration, saying that many of the lines the GOP presidential candidate used “came right out of my opening statement” when he announced his first run for the presidency in 1991.

Conservative radio host Mike Gallagher told Buchanan in an interview yesterday that he often thinks about “how Trump’s entire candidacy is based on themes that you have been echoing for many, many years” and that Buchanan must feel “vindicated” by Trump’s popularity.

“I was elated,” Buchanan said, “when you heard, you know, Trump get up and say unapologetically, ‘We’re going to have to put America first.’ And many of these lines came right out of my opening statement first announcing in 1991 against George Bush Sr.”

In a column yesterday, Buchanan similarly hailed “Conquistador Trump” for his commitment to “Americanism.”