In a shock move, Donald Trump told an interviewer that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the world leader he most admires, before immediately clarifying he was also disappointed with her. 

Trump was asked by NECN to name his favorite global politician after Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson flubbed the same question at an MSNBC town hall on Wednesday, struggling to come up with an answer.

“Well I think Merkel is a really great world leader but I was very disappointed that, when she, this move with the whole thing on immigration,” Trump said. “I think it's a big problem and really you know to look at what she's done in the last year and a half. I was always a Merkel person. I thought, really fantastic, but I think she made a very tragic mistake a year and a half ago.”

The initial answer was surprising, because Trump has accused Merkel of “ruining Germany” by taking in large numbers of refugees from countries like Syria. He has even used his rallies to denounce Hillary Clinton as “America’s Angela Merkel."

In a rare moment of agreement between Trump and his Democratic opponent, Clinton also told reporters on Thursday that Merkel was one of her model politicians.

“Look, I, I like a lot of the world leaders,” Clinton said. “One of my favorites is Angela Merkel, because I think she's been an extraordinary strong leader during difficult times in Europe.”