Trump denies ‘huge gift’ given to N. Korea

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As negotiations over a summit meeting with the ruler of North Korea accelerate, President Donald Trump on Sunday disputed any suggestion that he had made too many concessions at the outset of an unpredictable and potentially volatile diplomatic exercise.

From his Florida estate, Trump took to Twitter to criticize Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press,” who had questioned on his program whether the president had gotten anything in return for the “huge gift” he had given the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, by agreeing to meet with him.

On the show, Marc Short, the White House legislative affairs director, had an answer teed up — that the North Koreans had given the United States “an agreement to stop testing” nuclear weapons.

But from his Twitter account, the president chose to answer Todd directly.

“Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake News NBC just stated that we have given up so much in our negotiations with North Korea, and they have given up nothing,” Trump wrote. “Wow, we haven’t given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!”

North Korea has not in fact agreed to denuclearization. It has told the South Koreans that it is willing to discuss the issue, but Kim has made no such statement to his own people, as he did with his declaration that his country did not need to conduct further nuclear testing.

Experts inside and outside the U.S. government believe that Kim’s ultimate goal is to have his country recognized as a nuclear power even as he offers enough concessions — some potentially largely symbolic — to press the U.S. into easing sanctions.