Tensions between the United States and North Korea have been steadily rising, with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer declaring Monday that America is not "taking options off the table" when it comes to handling North Korea's escalating aggression. Only, what might make the situation especially concerning is that President Trump appears to not even know who is in charge of the country, as writer Ana Marie Cox recently pointed out on Twitter:
Trump [...] made two references in the interview to "this gentleman" in North Korea, who he said had "outplayed" both Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The late North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il died in 2011. His son, Kim Jong Un, is the country's current ruler."But, you know, they've been talking with this gentleman for a long time," Trump said. "You read Clinton’s book, he said, 'Oh, we made such a great peace deal,' and it was a joke. You look at different things over the years with President Obama. Everybody has been outplayed, they've all been outplayed by this gentleman. And we'll see what happens. But I just don't telegraph my moves." [Talking Points Memo]
Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping had to explain the North Korea conflict to Trump. "After listening for 10 minutes, I realized it's not so easy," Trump said afterward. "I felt pretty strongly that [China] had a tremendous power over North Korea. But it's not what you would think."
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.
-
Testosterone therapy in women highlights the lack of women’s health researchThe explainer There is no FDA-approved testosterone product for women
-
Magazine solutions - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Magazine printables - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
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
