Donald Trump says he would hold direct talks with North Korea's Kim Jong Un
In 2002, George W. Bush declared Iran, Iraq, and North Korea the "Axis of Evil." He then invaded Iraq, replacing its government. President Obama negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran. And on Tuesday, Donald Trump told Reuters that, if elected, he would hold direct talks with the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un over its nuclear arms program. "I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him," Trump said. He added that he would "absolutely" try to talk some sense into Kim, and also "put a lot of pressure on China because economically we have tremendous power over China ... China can solve that problem with one meeting or one phone call."
Direct talks with North Korea's leader would be a shift of U.S. policy, and Hillary Clinton's foreign policy adviser Jake Sullivan saw some irony in Trump's proposal, given his forecast a day earlier that he wouldn't "have a very good relationship" with British Prime Minister David Cameron. "Let me get this straight: Donald Trump insults the leader of our closest ally, then turns around and says he'd love to talk to Kim Jong Un?" Sullivan said in a statement. Trump "seems to have a bizarre fascination with foreign strongmen like Putin and Kim." (Trump told Reuters he's "sure I'll have a good relationship" with Cameron.)
In the 30-minute interview, Trump also said he is "not a big fan" of the Paris climate change agreement, saying he would "be looking at that very, very seriously, and at a minimum I will be renegotiating those agreements, at a minimum. And at a maximum I may do something else." He also said that he will release a detailed plan in two weeks to dismantle the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, because "Dodd-Frank is a very negative force, which has developed a very bad name."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
‘The worry is far from fanciful’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How are Americans bracing for the end of SNAP?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Millions depend on supplemental federal food funds that are set to expire this month, as the government shutdown begins to be acutely felt
-
Book review: ‘Joyride: A Memoir’Feature A journalist’s story of how she chased and accomplished her dreams
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
