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Donald Trump suggested that the world should have left Iraq and Libya alone, while admitting that Qaddafi and Saddam Hussein were "really bad." | AP Photo Trump: We'd be better off with Qaddafi, Saddam in power

The Islamic State would not have been able to gain a foothold if former Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi were still alive and in power, Donald Trump said.

“We would be so much better off if Qaddafi were in charge right now," Trump said, responding to Ted Cruz's claim that he supported the Libyan dictator's overthrow.

Trump then suggested that the world should have left Iraq and Libya alone, while admitting that Qaddafi and Saddam Hussein were "really bad," because their absence led to the rise of the Islamic State.

"If these politicians went to the beach and didn’t do a thing and we had Saddam Hussein and if we had Qaddafi in charge instead of having terrorism all over the place — at least they killed terrorists, all right?" he said.

"And I’m not saying they were good, because they were bad, they were really bad. But we don’t know what we’re getting. Look at Libya right now. ISIS as we speak is taking over their oil as we speak. It’s a total mess," he continued. "We would have been better off if the politicians took a day off instead of going to war.”