Trump says Kim summit site picked, dings Giuliani

President’s freewheeling style has mixed results

WASHINGTON – The president was in another chatty mood Friday.

Buffeted by allegations of misconduct but buoyed by good economic news, President Trump again engaged in the freewheeling media style that has marked his public life, telegraphing divergent messages on items ranging from Kim Jong Un to Robert Mueller to Rudy Giuliani to Stormy Daniels.

Sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

Over the course of three impromptu news gaggles, at the White House, at Joint Base Andrews and aboard Air Force One, Trump:

❚ Blasted Mueller and rebuked Giuliani, while telling reporters that the date and site have been picked for a summit with Kim — but not revealing either.

“We’re having very substantive talks with North Korea,” Trump said, including discussions of release of three Americans still imprisoned by Kim’s government.

Later, while aboard Air Force One en route to Dallas for a speech to the National Rifle Association, Trump teased some more by saying the summit “will be very soon; I have the date; I have the location; it’s all agreed to.”

❚ Denied he is considering withdrawing U.S. troops from South Korea as part of negotiations with Kim over his nuclear weapons program.

❚ Suggested the special counsel, Mueller, is biased because he “worked for Obama for eight years” as FBI director — though Mueller was first appointed by a Republican president, George W. Bush, and actually served in the Obama administration for about 41⁄2 years.

Trump also said he would “love” to speak to Mueller because he has done nothing wrong, but “I have to find that we’re going to be treated fairly.”

❚ Defended White House chief of staff John Kelly, apparently disputing reports that Kelly has described the president as an “idiot.” “Gen. Kelly is doing a fantastic job,” Trump said. “I could not be more happy.”

❚ Denied he has lied about the circumstances behind a payment of $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels for silence about her claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump.

❚ Admonished reporters for promoting stories about Russia and Daniels but not good economic news like the falling jobless rate. “This country is running so smoothly and to be bringing up that kind of crap and to be bringing up witch hunts all the time,” he said. “That’s all you want to talk about.”

Trump’s scattershot method — whether designed to correct what he see as misinformation or change the media narrative altogether — has benefits and drawbacks.

“When done right, it can change the news cycle,” said Texas-based Republican consultant Matt Mackowiak. “When done wrong, it presents more questions and creates a firestorm. I’m not sure his batting average is all that high.”

Future events will determine how well Trump did this time around.

“He would benefit from a far more disciplined message on a daily basis,” Mackowiak said, “with his entire team acting cohesively.”

During his trio of back-and-forths with reporters, Trump also said nice things about Giuliani but suggested his new lawyer, a former New York City mayor, needs to get his stories straight.

“Rudy is a great guy, but he started a day ago,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’ll get his facts straight.”

Trump responded to questions after Giuliani offered a somewhat confusing explanation of how the president wound up repaying private attorney Michael Cohen $130,000 in hush money to Daniels. Giuliani has also talked about negotiations with Mueller over possible presidential testimony in the Russia case.