Donald Trump boasted that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel “had complimented his ability to draw crowds — repeating a comment that implicitly compared him to Adolph Hitler,” according to a new book by Jonathan Karl, Politico reports.
“At least twice, Karl writes, Trump gloated to a prominent member of Congress that Merkel — who detested the 45th president privately and had trouble hiding her scorn publicly — told him she was ‘amazed’ by the number of people who came to see him speak, and Trump said ‘she told me that there was only one other political leader who ever got crowds as big as mine.’ The Trump-allied congressman knew who Merkel was comparing Trump to, but couldn’t tell if Trump, who took Merkel’s words as a compliment, himself understood.”
Asks Karl: “Which would be more unsettling: that he didn’t or that he did?”
