Elections

Donald Trump praises Angela Merkel…apart from ‘the whole immigration thing’

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump smiles during the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University on September 26, 2016 in Hempstead, New York.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he was "disappointed" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's stance on Europe's immigration crisis but praised her as a "great world leader".

Speaking in an interview with Boston cable network NECN, Trump was asked to name a world leader who he admired and would like to emulate.

"Well, I think Merkel is a really great world leader, but I was very disappointed [in] this move with the whole immigration thing," Trump told NECN. "I think it's a big problem."

Last year, Merkel welcomed refugees to Germany who were fleeing Middle East war zones. The move has been heavily criticized in Germany and has been cited as a key reason for the rise of far-right parties in the country's regional elections earlier this month.

"I was always a Merkel person," Trump said. "But I think she made a very tragic mistake a year and a half ago."

Trump's stance on Merkel appears to have changed from last year when he slammed the German Chancellor for "ruining Germany".

Read the full NECN story here.