The enigmatic filmmaker told The Guardian newspaper in an interview published over the weekend that while he is undecided about the job the property tycoon is doing in office, his rise could pave the way for major reform.

"He could go down as one of the greatest presidents in history because he has disrupted the thing so much. No one is able to counter this guy in an intelligent way," the 72-year-old, four-time Oscar nominee said.

After tweeting his approval, Trump quipped during a rally with supporters in South Carolina: "There goes his career in Hollywood."

"He now appears to believe that Trump may have been the right choice after all," Trump said to cheers and applause from the crowd.

Lynch, regarded as one of the greatest American filmmakers of his generation, told the London-based Guardian he couldn't remember who he voted for in the 2016 presidential election.

The Eraserhead and Blue Velvet director said it may have been Bernie Sanders, whom he preferred over Hillary Clinton for the Democratic primary.

"Our so-called leaders can't take the country forward, can't get anything done. Like children, they are. Trump has shown all this," he said.

Read also: Robert De Niro uses F-bomb against Trump on live TV

Twin Peaks, Lynch's famously surreal noir soap opera about murder in small-town America, returned last year after 26 years away, in perhaps the most eagerly anticipated television event of the year.

The compelling mystery of the original eight-episode Twin Peaks -- who killed the beautiful cheerleader Laura Palmer -- captured the imagination of a generation in 1990.

It quickly gained a loyal fan base and won three Golden Globes in 1991, including one for best television drama and another for actor Kyle MacLachlan.

Audiences and critical appreciation waned when the 22-episode second series unmasked Palmer's killer and ABC canceled the show.

A movie that followed, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, was a commercial and critical flop.

The director has spent recent years directing music videos and dabbling in comedy acting, but hasn't made a motion picture since the box office miss Inland Empire 12 years ago.

Lynch, who has meditated twice a day for more than 40 years, suggested to AFP last year that he had made his last feature film.

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