Trump claims critics 'misinterpreted' his comments on Otto Warmbier, still doesn't condemn Kim Jong Un
President Trump on Friday argued that critics, like Otto Warmbier's parents, had "misinterpreted" his suggestion that North Korea's Kim Jong Un was not responsible for Warmbier's death.
After a summit with Kim in Hanoi on Thursday, Trump said he didn't believe Kim would have allowed Warmbier to die in a North Korean prison camp in 2017 if he had known about his treatment. "[Kim] tells me that he didn't know about it, and I take him at his word," said Trump.
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.
Trump tweeted that he "hold[s] North Korea responsible" for Warmbier's death. CNN's Kaitlan Collins points out that Trump was asked whether he holds Kim personally responsible, not whether he blames North Korea more generally. CBS News' Kathryn Watson noted that Trump's tweets still didn't condemn the dictator, so they don't exactly clarify the situation. "Remember, I got Otto out," Trump wrote. "The previous administration did nothing." Summer Meza
