(CNN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez revealed a deeply personal side in an interview Thursday night, saying he loves Jesus Christ and would have liked to play Major League baseball in Yankee Stadium.



Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spoke highly of President Obama at the United Nations on Thursday.



He also expressed a fondness for American people and culture, saying he likes the movie actor Charles Bronson and the poet Walt Whitman. He loves to sing, he said, though he does not do it well.



And Chavez had kind words for the U.S. security detail protecting him during his visit to New York, saying he chatted with them while out walking and that they "have been very gracious, very efficient and very attentive, very kind."



In an exclusive interview with CNN's Larry King, Chavez spoke at length about a host of issues: relations between Venezuela and the United States and his hopes for improved ties with President Barack Obama; Iran, Israel and those who deny that the Holocaust existed; efforts to overthrow him and have him assassinated; criticism that he is power hungry and trying to silence critics.



Chavez, a self-proclaimed socialist, spoke with King a few hours after giving a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, in which he praised Obama but criticized some U.S. policies.   Watch Chavez speak at the U.N. General Assembly »



When asked whether he is misunderstood in the United States, Chavez seemed to turn reflective.



"I'm a man with many defects," he said. "I love. I sing. I dream. I was born in the poor countryside. I was raised in the countryside, planting corn and selling sweets made by my grandmother. My children, my two daughters are with me and I want a better world for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren.



"Now, they demonize me. But that's the start of these world campaigns to try to defend what you cannot defend -- a system that is destroying the world. ... I'm a Christian. I want the world of justice and equality. This is the only way to achieve peace."



Chavez then talked about his religious upbringing and current faith.



"I was an altar boy," he said. "My mother wanted me to be a priest. I am very Christian and Catholic. ... I'm very faithful. I believe in God, in Jesus Christ. I love Jesus Christ. I am a Christian. ... I cry when I see injustice, children dying of hunger."



His comments were all the more remarkable because Chavez and the Catholic Church have been at odds since he came to power in 1999. The church has been one of his major critics, with Pope Benedict XVI and other church leaders expressing concern over what they see as attempts by Chavez to limit the church's influence. Chavez's efforts to change anti-abortion laws have been at the top of those concerns.



Chavez, in turn, has referred to church leadership as a "tumor."



Speaking of other matters, Chavez said he hopes for improved relations with Obama, but "we want relations based on respect, relations of peoples where we are respected."



That has not been the case so far, he said.



"Most governments in the United States in a hundred years have not respected the peoples of Latin America," Chavez told King. "They have sponsored coup d'etats, assassinations. It's enough. We want to be brothers and sisters. We want respect and equality."



Chavez particularly criticized former President George W. Bush, whom he accused of orchestrating an assassination attempt on the Venezuelan leader during a short-lived coup in 2002. Chavez regained power within days.  Watch Chavez discuss the alleged assassination attempt »



"The Bush government toppled me," he said. "They asked for my assassination. They disrespected us. ... I saw my assassins. ... I was a prisoner in Venezuela, being a president. They took me to the seaside. I was debating with those who wanted murder me. They received the order to kill me.
What does Chavez hope for? Who does Hugo Chavez love? Which president says he loves Jesus Christ, the American people and its culture? What country was Hugo Chavez the President of? What does Chavez say he hopes for? What does Chavez say he loves?
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question: What does Chavez hope for?, answer: improved ties with President Barack Obama; Iran, Israel and those who deny that the Holocaust | question: Who does Hugo Chavez love?, answer: Jesus Christ | question: Which president says he loves Jesus Christ, the American people and its culture?, answer: Hugo Chavez | question: What country was Hugo Chavez the President of?, answer: Venezuelan | question: What does Chavez say he hopes for?, answer: improved ties with President Barack Obama; | question: What does Chavez say he loves?, answer: Jesus Christ