‘It makes me feel better’: Donald Trump just called his entire inner circle ‘losers’

President Trump just voiced his inner thoughts aloud. Now, while that is no surprise at all, it’s who he is referring to that makes his new quips so interesting. Even if he tried to pass it off as a joke, his comment about surrounding himself “with losers” and his reasons for why are a pretty telling remark about everyone he has appointed as staff. Entertainingly enough, it also makes it clear why he has issues with those who stand against him. 

According to The Hill, the president was actually responding to a question at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit about what leadership skills he thinks are currently missing in the world. He told the crowd that “winning, you’ve got to win,” before adding that there are “mostly losers, fortunately.” 

Trump then stated, “I always like to hang around losers actually because it makes me feel better.” He went on to explain, “I hate guys that are very, very successful and you have to listen to their success stories. I like people that like to listen to my success.” He did add later that he was “only kidding, I want to say that — eh, sort of.’

Well, we do know that he likes to praise himself endlessly

Except, this isn’t the first time Trump has made comments in this vein. Back on the campaign trail in 2024, he told a rally crowd that he does not “like anybody that doesn’t like me” when talking about late-night TV show hosts. At the time, he was pretty upfront about it, stating, “I’ll be honest, when they don’t like me, I don’t like them. OK?” He even acknowledged it, saying, “Sounds childish… That’s the way it is. Call it a personality defect.” 

When asked later on Friday to expand on which nations he considers “winners” or “losers,” the president expressed significant respect for China’s economic prowess: “You have to have great respect for China for the job they do. Like them or not like them, you have to respect them.” He’s actually scheduled to travel to China after a delay because of U.S.’s ongoing military operations against Iran. 

During his speech at FII, the president also spoke about Iran, claiming it was “the bully no longer.” This comes after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on the country about a month ago, following failed nuclear deal negotiations. Trump, however,  recently backpedaled on his original aggressive rhetoric, and officials are discussing potential terms for a ceasefire. 

Trump told the Miami crowd that Iran would have had a nuclear weapon “within two to four weeks” if the U.S. had not “knocked the hell” out of Iran. He then informed everyone that “They would have used it on you, and on Israel, and on everyone else.” 

The FII Institute, which hosted this conference, was established by Saudi Arabian royal decree in 2017 to promote global economic growth. This year’s annual conference brought together business leaders from all over the world.