On Tuesday, Donald Trump raised eyebrows by praising Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq, for his tough approach to terrorists.

"Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right?" the presumptive Republican nominee declared at a campaign rally in North Carolina.

"He was a bad guy, really bad guy," he continued. "But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them rights. They didn't talk. They were terrorists. It was over."

The comments quickly became a small media firestorm, but they were actually very much in line with what Trump has said previously on the topic. Trump frequently argues that the Middle East would have been better off if the U.S. never invaded Iraq in 2003 and ousted Hussein, though he was quoted saying in 2002 that he supported the war.

Trump has also offered mixed praise throughout the years for various other international strongmen.

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(Sources: Slide 1 – Hussein, Slide 2 – Putin, Slide 3 – Jong Un, Slide 4 – Gadhafi, Slide 5 – Tiananmen, Slide 6 – Hussein)



