The Kremlin isn’t the only authoritarian leader Donald Trump admires — he’s also a self-proclaimed fan of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. During a rally in Iowa back in January, Trump praised North Korea’s Supreme Leader as “incredible.” “He goes in, he takes over, he’s the boss,” Trump said. “It’s pretty amazing when you think of it. How does he do that?”
In fact, Trump said in a recent interview with Reuters that he’d like to meet Jong-un — “I would have no problem speaking to him,” he declared. Unfortunately for Trump a North Korean envoy has reportedly crushed his hopes, dismissing the meeting as “nonsense” and a “kind of propaganda.”
So Se Pyong, North Korea’s ambassador to the United States in Geneva, told Reuters that, “It is up to the decision of my Supreme Leader whether he decides to meet or not, but I think his idea or talk is nonsense.”
He went on to pretty much sum up Trump’s entire campaign strategy, saying: “It’s for utilization of the presidential election, that’s all. A kind of a propaganda or advertisement. This is useless, just a gesture for the presidential election. There is no meaning, no sincerity.”
So much for Trump’s plan to “talk some sense into” the North Korean leader. Maybe he’ll have better luck if he sticks to his own authoritarian agenda.
