Mike Huckabee: North Korea might have more freedom than U.S.

(Image credit: Darren McCollester / Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

North Korea is a cloistered, totalitarian state where dissidents are sent to prison camps, whiffs of insurrection are punished by propagandized death, and male citizens are reportedly, though probably not actually, all forced to get the same haircut as leader Kim Jong Un. It's also, according to Fox News host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) a place with more freedom than the United States.

Speaking to a friendly crowd at a Libertarian-sponsored gathering in New Hampshire on Saturday, Huckabee joked that the TSA's pre-boarding procedures were so excessive as to make the Hermit Kingdom seem like a bastion of liberty. His remarks, as transcribed by MSNBC:

"My gosh, I'm beginning to think that there's more freedom in North Korea sometimes than there is in the United States," he said in his remarks. "When I go to the airport, I have to get in the surrender position, people put hands all over me, and I have to provide photo ID and a couple of different forms and prove that I really am not going to terrorize the airplane – but if I want to go vote I don't need a thing." [MSNBC]

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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.