Nixon White House lawyer says Trump is 'out of his league' meeting with Kim

John Dean.
(Image credit: TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump is "out of his league" in his agreement to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, says John Dean, a former White House attorney to former President Richard Nixon.

"Much can go wrong and Trump won't read a briefing book," Dean tweeted in the early hours of Friday morning. "Going to be interesting — and extremely dangerous."

South Korea's national security adviser announced Thursday that Trump had accepted an invitation from Kim to meet face-to-face — something no sitting U.S. president has done before. The meeting is reportedly to discuss denuclearization by Pyongyang in exchange for relaxed sanctions from the U.S. The announcement blindsided both the Defense Department and the State Department: The Associated Press reports that Pentagon officials had no idea Trump had agreed to the meeting, which is scheduled to happen by May.

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Dean doesn't have much faith in Trump's ability to handle the unprecedented situation, mentioning in his tweet the consistent reports that Trump does not read briefing materials. Dean additionally quipped that Kim could curry favor with the president simply by throwing him a parade. "This is not a 'Nixon to China' moment," Dean wrote.

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Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.