President Donald Trump made another claim on Wednesday, April 1. He said he can easily win people’s personal loyalty and discussed one key factor he uses when forming opinions about people.
During an Easter lunch event in the East Room, attended by senior staff and religious leaders, the 79- year-old said that he tends to feel instant affection for people who treat him well, even suggesting this applies “even if they’re bad people.”
Trump was speaking to reporters about developments related to Iran war. After noticing a media personality in the audience, he praised the person for being consistently kind to him.
“They said, ‘What do you mean you have regime change?’ My friend, great show. I love this guy,” Trump said. “He’s so nice to me. Every time I watch, I appreciate it.”
According to The Daily Beast, Trump admitted that he tends to judge people based on how they treat him, even if they might have a poor reputation. “We’re not supposed to be seduced that way, right? But I am,” he said. “When somebody’s nice to me, I love that person,” he added.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump also talked about his foreign policy, claiming that his personal approach had helped bring about significant changes in Iran.
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Observers have noticed a pattern in how Donald Trump has built warm geopolitical ties with controversial leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Trump praised Kim in August, saying he has a good relationship and would like to meet again.
“I have very good relationships with Kim Jong Un, from North Korea,” he said. “A lot of people would say that’s terrible, no, it’s good. In fact, someday I’ll see him, I look forward to seeing him, he was very good with me,” he added.
During his first term, he said in an interview that he was almost envious of Kim Jong Un’s public aura. He reportedly admired how the leader had established an environment of control like nobody else.
North Korea maintains extreme state control by banning foreign media, internet access, international phone calls, and restricting clothing and preferences, followed by expected loyalty to Kim’s regime. Trump admitted he is stunned by how citizens pay immediate attention to his orders, and said he wished to see similar loyalty.
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When reporters asked him how he could defend a dictator’s regime, he said:” You know why I don’t want to see a nuclear weapon destroy you and your family.”
In contrast, Trump’s relationship with Putin has drawn ongoing criticism, including from some conservatives who argue he has inclined way too much towards the president.
According to The List, the two leaders met in Alaska in 2025 for a peace summit. Donald Trump jokingly said he’d autograph it for his “BFF.” Additionally, reports suggest that Vladimir Putin wanted to give the president an “American Bald Eagle Desk Statue.”
He allegedly also received a gift in March 2025, and Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov revealed that Trump was gifted a portrait of himself from Putin after his infamous assassination attempt.
Additionally, Donald Trump tried to negotiate to end the long-standing war with Ukraine, but pointed out that although Putin is “very nice,” his words can be unreliable after he did not keep his promises in the past.
Political scientist Yusuf Çifci of Muş Alparslan University in Turkey said that global icons like Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump resemble strong narcissistic traits fueled by self-centered behavior.
Narcissists are gods who worship themselves,” he said. They cannot be cured because ‘Gods do not get sick,’” the scholar added.
