WATCH: Ric Grenell defends Trump's past praise of dictators and authoritarian leaders

Former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell said the U.S. needs to “deal with reality" when asked why former President Donald Trump has praised authoritarian leaders around the world.

"We don't necessarily wanna be the one that says Kim Jong Un has to be replaced," Grenell told PBS News Hour’s Geoff Bennett at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday, adding that the North Korean leader is a “madman” with nuclear weapons and Trump was "protecting America" by shaking his hand.

“I want to have a leader that really takes this madman and says, ‘Let's deal with this guy. Let's try to find a way,' and I think it was successful,” Grenell said. He also said that it’s important to call out human rights abuses and said Trump "did that in a very good way."

Throughout the week, Republican elected officials, party leaders, celebrities and voters have taken the stage to speak in support of Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. They also adopted a party platform.

Follow PolitiFact’s live fact-checking here: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/live-fact-check-night-4-of-the-republican-national-convention

Watch a direct feed from the convention floor here. For PBS News special coverage, visit: https://youtube.com/live/27wpszdWPRQ

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