President Trump offered a personal window into his friendship with John F. Kennedy Jr. during a Thursday interview on Fox News's "The Five," saying he believed the young Kennedy was destined for the presidency before his life was cut short in 1999.

"I think he would have gone on, perhaps, to be the president," Trump told host Dana Perino, The Hill reported.

Trump recounted a genuine personal connection with the founder of George magazine, noting that Kennedy Jr. had featured him on the publication's cover. The two spent time together at Mar-a-Lago, and Trump said Kennedy Jr. confided his political ambitions directly.

"He was going to run for the Senate. He told me, and nobody would have beaten him."

A Different Kind of Kennedy

It's worth pausing on that assessment. The Kennedy political dynasty has been synonymous with Democratic Party royalty for generations, but JFK Jr. occupied a unique space in American culture. He wasn't just a politician's son. He was a celebrity, a media entrepreneur, and by all accounts a figure who transcended the usual partisan categories. George magazine itself was a product of that instinct, treating politics as something worth making interesting rather than something reserved for ideologues.

Trump also recalled Kennedy Jr.'s relationship with his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, describing them as a couple with a dynamic, passionate bond.

"They would go down to Mar-a-Lago together, and they had a very interesting relationship. They would bicker together, in other words have little fights, and then they would make up and start kissing wildly."

"It was one of those relationships, and you never know how those relationships are going to turn out," Trump added.

Tragedy revisited

Trump's reflections arrive as public interest in the couple has surged following the release of FX's fictional series "Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette." The entertainment industry's fascination with the Kennedys is nothing new, but the timing gave Trump's firsthand memories an added resonance.

Kennedy Jr. and Bessette Kennedy died in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in 1999. Trump called their deaths "tragic."

There's something striking about a sitting president speaking with obvious warmth about a man who, had he lived, might have been his political rival. Trump didn't hedge or qualify. He simply said what he believed: that JFK Jr. had the talent and the name to reach the highest office in the country, and that the country lost something real when that plane went down.

Some legacies are bigger than party. This was Trump acknowledging one.