TBILISI, DFWatch – The American investor Donald Trump praised Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili on the morning talk show Fox & Friends recently, calling him “one of the great leaders of the world”.

The billionaire and TV personality had just returned from a trip to Georgia in connection with a plan to build a residential high rise in Batumi on the Black Sea coast with Georgian money, and promoted by Mr Trump.

On the show, he described a booming economy with every kind of industry.

Donald Trump: I was in the republic of Georgia over the weekend […] and you have to see a place that’s booming. It’s unbelievable. This was a Russian satellite for a period of time, broke away. Leaders are going to that country to find out what they’re doing.

Steve Doocy: What’s the industry there?

DT: It’s everything. But one of them is tourism. And what they’re doing, they’re building a place – Batumi. It’s going to be one of the great places of the world within four or five years, I see what they’re doing.

Gretchen Carlson: So what’s your interest? […] What are you going to be investing in?

DT: I’m doing a big job there, I’m doing a big development there. And it’s been amazing. You’re talking about ten per cent growth, as opposed to one or two per cent, that we have in this country. But the ten per cent I think is a very low number.

Brian Kilmeade: Saakashvili has been Western trained, I mean, so he understands..

DT: He’s one of the great leaders of the world right now, and literally other countries, major countries, are going there to find out what he’s doing.