Donald Trump has compared himself to Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán in his latest bid to win over voters.
The former president was speaking at the University of New Hampshire in Durham on Saturday, where he aligned himself to the Russian and Hungarian leaders.
Trump was pushing his message that the criminal cases against him are a "coordinated persecution" in an attempt to diminish his lead in general election polls.
The presidential hopeful quoted Putin and welcomed compliments from Orbán.
Trump has praised Putin and quoted him in his speech
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Trump said: "Even Vladimir Putin… says that Biden’s, and this is a quote, politically motivated persecution of his political rival is very good for Russia because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy.
"They [are] weaponising law enforcement for high-level election interference because we’re beating them so badly in the polls.
"Viktor Orbán, the highly respected prime minister of Hungary, said Trump is the man who can save the Western world."
The former president also spoke of his relationship with North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, who he said praised his premiership. Trump said: "He’s not so fond of this administration, but he’s fond of me" adding that he is "very nice".
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In 2019, Trump became the first US President to step foot in North Korea
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Trump is facing legal cases in New York, Georgia and Washington, as well as federal indictments for mishandling classified documents in an alleged plot to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
It comes as Trump has been criticised for his comments that he would be a dictator "only on day one".
Professor at Texas A&M University Jennifer Mercieca said: "Putin hates Western values like democracy and the rule of law, so does Trump."
In his speech, the former president targeted immigrants with dehumanising language, accusing them of "poisoning the blood of our country".
Trump said he has been praised by Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán
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Democrats were quick to criticise Trump's language ahead of a General Election year in the US.
Biden spokesman Ammar Moussa said: "Donald Trump channelled his role models as he parroted Adolf Hitler, praised Kim Jong-un, and quoted Vladimir Putin while running for president on a promise to rule as a dictator and threaten American democracy."
Democratic National Committee press secretary Sarafina Chitika said: "Trump will waste no time implementing his dangerous vision for America."
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said: "[Trump] gave a great speech and knocked it out of the park."
