Sanders: Trump has never met an authoritarian leader he hasn’t liked

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) slammed President Trump Saturday for having “never met a leader of an authoritarian nation … that he hasn’t liked.”

“Well, at least Trump is consistent. Abroad, he has never met a leader of an authoritarian nation (Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Philippines) that he hasn’t liked,” Sanders tweeted.

{mosads}“At home he shows contempt for the U.S. Constitution and democracy.”

Well, at least Trump is consistent. Abroad, he has never met a leader of an authoritarian nation (Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Philippines) that he hasn’t liked. At home he shows contempt for the U.S. Constitution and democracy.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 11, 2017

Sanders made the comment as Trump nears the end of his 12-day trip to Asia, and just hours after Trump said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that Russia didn’t interfere in the U.S. presidential election.

“Every time he sees me he says, ‘I didn’t do that,’ and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it,” Trump told reporters.

Trump was also criticized for not taking questions from reporters during an event with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump departed China on Friday for Vietnam.

Trump has also faced backlash for his comments about Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings during a crackdown on drug dealers.

“I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem,” Trump told Duterte during a phone call in April.

Trump met Duterte for the first time on Saturday, according to The Washington Post, and the pair will meet again in the Philippines.