10 things you need to know today: March 2, 2019

Trump claims critics 'misinterpreted' his comments on Otto Warmbier, House demands documents related to Jared Kushner's top-secret clearance, and more

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images)

1. Trump claims critics 'misinterpreted' his comments on Otto Warmbier

President Trump on Friday argued that critics, like Otto Warmbier's parents, had "misinterpreted" his suggestion that North Korea's Kim Jong Un was not responsible for the college student's death. After a summit with Kim in Hanoi on Thursday, Trump said he didn't believe Kim would have allowed Warmbier, a U.S. citizen, to die in a North Korean prison camp in 2017 if he had known about his treatment. "[Kim] tells me that he didn't know about it, and I take him at his word," said Trump. Warmbier's parents said "Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son," and "no excuses or lavish praise can change that." Trump tweeted, without blaming Kim specifically, that he "hold[s] North Korea responsible" for Warmbier's death. "Remember, I got Otto out," he wrote.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.