Donald Trump: Vladimir Putin Can Be Dealt With

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on getting input from business leaders in his potential administration and his views on foreign leaders such as Germany’s Angela Merkel and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

In an interview with FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump discussed who he admires most in foreign policy, military and business.

“When you look at business, a guy like Jack Welch. I've always been a fan of Jack… I actually did deals with Jack when he was at General Electric. And you know somebody like Jack Welch was certainly a great example. And there are so many of them. I've met so many corporate leaders, over the years, over the last four or five years in particular and so many that are so good. And people like, as an example, Larry Fink, I invest money, I put money with different people, and Larry Fink -- done a great job, you know, he's done a great job for me. And, you know, with the money that I have given them to invest and others. There are so many people that I have great respect for. Unfortunately there are far more people that don’t do a very good job,” he said.

Trump said he thinks German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a great leader.

“Fantastic leader. She's -- I was with somebody the other day who thinks she is the greatest leader in the world today ... the smartest and the greatest leader in the world today and this is a person that has great knowledge of her and deals with her,” he said.

He said Vladimir Putin is someone “that can be dealt with.”

“I think his dislike of President Obama is so intense that it really has affected the whole relationship. We've driven them into the arms of China, so that now these two are together, which has always been the great sin. Don't ever let Russia and China get together. We've driven them together. I think he is somebody that I would have a very decent relationship with if I ever win,” he said.

He also weighed in on China’s leader Xi Jinping.

“Always smart. Chinese leaders are -- they have a different system than ours. They don't do it by television, they do it by a different route to get up there… I think what he did with the recent devaluations, which a lot of people said were market driven, they are not market driven. They did it to keep it going. But the -- the leaders in China always turn out to be smart, and he's certainly one of them,” he said.