Who's tougher to deal with — Putin or Xi? Trump has a 'smart and strong' answer

US President Donald Trump , in his trademark candid style, weighed in on two of the world's most powerful figures -- Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping -- describing both as "smart" and "strong," and asserting that they're "not to be toyed with."

Speaking to CBS News in a wide-ranging interview on global power dynamics , Trump was asked directly by the interviewer: "Who's tougher to deal with, Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping?"

CBS: "Who’s tougher to deal with, Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping?"@POTUS: "Both tough. Both smart. Look, they’re both very strong leaders. These are people not to be toyed with. These are people you have to take very serious." pic.twitter.com/eYs4DOvYXA

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 3, 2025

Without skipping a beat, Trump replied, "Both tough. Both smart. Both—look, they're both very strong leaders. These are people not to be toyed with. These are people you have to take very serious. They're not—they're not walking in saying, 'Oh, isn't it a beautiful day?'"

He quipped further, "Look how beautiful. The sun is shining, it's so nice." Then added, "These are serious people. These are people that are tough, smart leaders."

The interview also touched on the Alaska talks , where Trump rolled out a red-carpet welcome for Putin in a bid to advance peace efforts amid the ongoing Ukraine war -- talks that have so far yielded little progress. Defending his approach, Trump said, "Well, I roll out the red carpet for everybody."

Turning to nuclear security, Trump expressed concern over global stockpiles while acknowledging America’s dominance in weapons capability.

"Well, we have more nuclear weapons than any other country. Russia's second. China's a very distant third, but they'll be even in five years. You know, they're makin' 'em rapidly, and I think we should do something about denuclearization, which is gonna be some—and I did actually discuss that with both President Putin and President Xi," he said.

He warned of the growing risks, adding, "Denuclearization's a very big thing. We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times. Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot."