TOUGH; NUTS
Don: Only 1 way to deal with Kim
PRESIDENT TRUMP believes there’s only one option when it comes to dealing with Kim Jong Un and the threat of a nuclear armed North Korea.
Trump, who previously said that “all options are on the table” regarding the rogue nation, took to Twitter Saturday to mock past attempts at diplomacy and to offer a cryptic message for Pyongyang.
“Presidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid hasn’t worked,” he wrote.
“(A)greements violated before the ink was dry, makings fools of U.S. negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work!”
The U.S. and North Korea have long been at odds over the Communist nation’s attempts to build nuclear weapons.
But tensions between the two countries have been exceptionally high in recent months as Pyongyang conducts an increasing number of missile tests and Trump ramps up his heated rhetoric in response.
The President recently began referring to North Korea leader Kim Jong Un as “Little Rocket Man” and delivered a threat to “totally destroy” the country during his doomsday address to the United Nations.
Trump’s comments on Saturday continue a now weekly tradition of further distancing himself from his Secretary of State Tillerson’s stance on diplomatic options.
Last week, Trump undermined Tillerson’s claim that the U.S. is in direct contact with North Korean officials, tweeting that it wasn’t worth the time.
“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful secretary of state, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” Trump wrote a week ago.
He continued, “Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!”
Trump, who spent the morning at his Virginia golf course, also used social media Saturday to suggest he is open to negotiating with Democrats on health care.
The President tweeted that he called Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Friday to discuss the future of Obamacare, which Trump said “is badly broken, big premiums. Who knows!”
Trump said he wanted “to see if the Dems want to do a great HealthCare Bill.”
Schumer, through a spokesman, said that Trump “wanted to make another run at repeal and replace and I told the President that’s off the table.”
Schumer said if Trump “wants to work together to improve the existing health care system, we Democrats are open to his suggestions.”
Trump headlined a fund-raiser Saturday night in Greensboro, N.C. The event was expected to raise $2 million, with donors paying up to $35,000 per couple to serve as co-hosts.