Friendly relationship with Kim Jong Un is 'not a bad thing,' Trump says
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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"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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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."
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