Trump has on 15 separate occasions praised authoritatians. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/07/02/politics/donald-trump-dictators-kim-jong-un-vladimir-putin/index.html
These include people like Kim Jung un, Puten, Xi jinping and on one occasion even praising Jeb Bush (for being high energy)
Meanwhile people like Biden and Obama and every Neocon you can think of trashes these people publicly.
Why does Trump continue to praise these leaders. Well, if anyone knows narcissistic people it is Trump. He has a knack for knowing how narcissistic autocrats think. We can all agree on this right?
Well, it turns out that autocratic leaders are more likely to do whatever the fuck you tell them to if you give them praise. If you make them look good in front of their citizens and help them save face by making concessions.
It turns out that calling people evil, makes them want to cooperate less with them. So it is merely trump playing 3d chess and the media is literally too stupid to understand how international politics work.