Donald Trump has lavished praise on president Xi Jinping, saying that he is “straight out of central casting” for a leader of China and is “very tall – especially for this country.”
“If you went to Hollywood and you look for a leader of China, to play a role in a movie, he’s central casting… you couldn’t find a guy like him,” President Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview which aired Thursday night.
“Even his physical features, you know, he’s tall, very tall, and especially for this country, because they tend to be a little bit shorter… but no, if you went to Hollywood, you wouldn’t find that, you’re not going to find a guy to play the role who’s good.”
The phrase “straight out of Central Casting” comes from an old Hollywood agency, established in 1925, that supplied background extras for television shows and movies. It is typically used to mean someone who looks the part.
Trump has used the phrase previously for other men, including Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Kevin Warsh – his nominee to lead the Federal Reserve.
“On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, announcing Warsh as his nominee.
Warsh referenced the remark later in his confirmation hearing, during which he was asked by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren if he disagreed with the president on any matters.
“Well I do have a disagreement actually, Senator, with the president. This morning he said I was out of central casting. I think central casting – I’d be older, grayer and maybe show up here with a cigar of sorts,” Warsh responded, drawing laughter from some, but a stony-faced look from Warren.
In his interview with Hannity, the first sit-down for the president since his bilateral with Xi, Trump continued to praise the Chinese president but suggested that it might get him in trouble.
“I think he’s a warm person, actually, but he’s all business. There’s no games,” he said.
“There’s no talking about how nice the weather is. ‘Aw, let’s look at the stars, let’s look at the sun,’ you know. No, he’s all business, and I like that. That’s a good thing. No games. I say it about him and I could say it about some, not as complimentary, frankly, for the most part, but I say about him.”
He added: “They always criticize me when I say good things about certain leaders, and this one, but he’s a leader for China,” the president said.
“He’s led almost 1.5 billion people for a long time, and he’s respected. It’s sort of interesting when the fake news… they’ll say President Trump said that President Xi was a brilliant leader. That’s a terrible thing. What am I going to do?”
