Huntsman told Fox News that he was only alluding to the fact that the president would appoint a Republican to “a position as important and sensitive as the U.S. ambassadorship to China.”

“You are a remarkable leader,” Huntsman wrote in the note, which was leaked to reporters earlier this year. He underlined the word “remarkable.”

Asked if he was referring to the president’s policies with those kind words, Huntsman claimed that he wrote the letter “early in his administration.”

“There was nothing to comment on at that point,” Huntsman said.