The US President Donald Trump would like to be a dictator, CNBC reported referring to billionaire George Soros.

In an interview with the German newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine, Soros said the ongoing tensions between the two largest economies in the world and the accusation of President Donald Trump of China of the COVID-19 pandemic complicate potential joint efforts to eradicate the virus. However, Soros is not a supporter of closer relations with Beijing.

“There are a lot of people who say we should be working very closely with China (on tackling the crisis) — but I am not in favor of doing that,” he said. “We must protect our democratic open society. At the same time, we must find a way to cooperate on fighting climate change and the novel coronavirus. That won’t be easy.”

Soros also criticized Trump's policies, arguing that the US president wants to be a dictator, but is restrained by the US Constitution. According to him, Trump does not represent the value of an open and free society.

“Donald Trump would like to be a dictator,” he told Augsburger Allgemeine. “But he cannot be one because there is a Constitution in the United States that people still respect, and it will prevent him from doing certain things — that doesn’t mean he will not try because he is literally fighting for his political survival.”

Soros claimed Trump’s presidency was a “weakness” for the US, he said.

“I have put my faith in Trump to destroy himself, and he has exceeded my wildest expectations,” he said.