Trump sends bombers in show of force against 'Little Rocket Man'
President Trump again referred to Kim Jong Un as "Little Rocket Man" in a tweet Saturday night, the third iteration of the president's favorite new insult in his war of words with the North Korean leader:
On Thursday and Friday, Kim and Trump labeled each other a "mentally deranged U.S. dotard" and "madman," respectively. Trump previously used "Rocket Man" during his United Nations speech Tuesday and at an Alabama campaign rally Friday.
The Saturday tweet came several hours after a group of U.S. bombers and fighter escorts flew well north of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, staying over international waters but making a clear show of force toward Pyongyang. The Pentagon characterized the flight as a demonstration "that the president has many military options to defeat any threat."
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.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said Saturday Trump's insults make a North Korean strike on the U.S. mainland "more inevitable," calling Trump "President Evil."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Political cartoons for December 13Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include saving healthcare, the affordability crisis, and more
-
Farage’s £9m windfall: will it smooth his path to power?In Depth The record donation has come amidst rumours of collaboration with the Conservatives and allegations of racism in Farage's school days
-
The issue dividing Israel: ultra-Orthodox draft dodgersIn the Spotlight A new bill has solidified the community’s ‘draft evasion’ stance, with this issue becoming the country’s ‘greatest internal security threat’
-
Did Trump just end the US-Europe alliance?Today's Big Question New US national security policy drops ‘grenade’ on Europe and should serve as ‘the mother of all wake-up calls’
-
The North Korean troops readying for deployment in UkraineThe Explainer Third country wading into conflict would be 'the first step to a world war' Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned
-
What's happening at the North Korea border?The Explainer Tensions rise as hermit kingdom blows up 'symbolic' roads after accusing Seoul of flying drones over Pyongyang
-
How would we know if World War Three had started?In depth Most of us probably won’t realise that we are in a global conflict – at first
-
British warship repels 'largest Houthi attack to date' in the Red SeaSpeed read Western allies warn of military response to Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels if attacks on ships continue
-
Houthi rebels claim Red Sea ship attacksspeed read Iran-backed Yemeni group vows to escalate aggression towards Israel-linked vessels in revenge for Gaza war
-
Israel plans next phase of Gaza war as first hostages releasedSpeed read After four-day ceasefire 'we will not stop' until destruction of Hamas, says Israel
-
Mob storms Russian airport 'looking for Jews'Speed Read Plane from Israel surrounded by rioters chanting antisemitic slogans after landing in Russia's Dagestan region
