Former President Donald Trump touted his relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un recently, calling friendly relations with the cloistered country a “good thing.”
Trump made the comment at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania this week, reflecting on what some see as among the greatest accomplishments of his administration.
“I got along with Kim Jong-un of North Korea. Remember I walked over […] the first person to ever walk over from this country,” the former president said to the crowd.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump meet inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the South and North Korea in Panmunjom, South Korea. (Dong-A Ilbo via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We also looked at his nuclear capability,” he continued. “It’s very substantial […] You know, getting along is a good thing. It’s not a bad thing.
Trump became the first sitting US President to meet with a dictator of North Korea when he shook hands with Kim Jong Un in 2019.
The unexpected and historic summit came as a last-minute surprise to the U.S. public due to a public exchange of insulting messages between Trump and Kim Jong Un not long before they met up.
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President Donald Trump (R) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) pose during their second summit meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Vietnam News Agency/Handout/Getty Images)
Trump has made the accomplishment a regular talking point since 2019, proudly boasting about his unique ability to reach the dictator and claiming he would have normalized relations by now if he had been re-elected.
“It started off rough, remember that? I was saying ‘little rocket man’ and he was saying ‘I’ve got a red button on my desk, and I’m willing to use it,'” Trump recalled in an April 2023 interview. “And then all of a sudden we get a call — they want to meet. We would have had that whole situation straightened out shortly after the beginning of my second term.”
Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris has attacked Trump for the meeting with Kim Jong Un, claiming the former president was too soft on the dictator.
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President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un talk before a meeting in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
“I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. And I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, who are rooting for Trump,” she said during her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. “Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable — because he wants to be an autocrat,”
Neither presidential candidate has offered a thorough and concrete platform on how they would approach relations with North Korea following the 2024 election.
