Trump speculates on 'Christmas gift' from North Korea: 'I may get a vase'

President Trump likes to believe the best of his foreign dictator friends.
In a teleconference to U.S. military members on Tuesday, Trump was asked about the "Christmas gift" that North Korean officials threatened the U.S. with ahead of year-end nuclear talks. And despite the foreboding nature of the comments and North Korea's history of timing nuclear missile launches with holidays, Trump only had positive things to say about the potential gift.
"Maybe it's a nice present," Trump said. "Maybe it's a present where he sends me a beautiful vase as opposed to a missile test."
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North Korea's Ri Thae Song said earlier this month that "it is entirely up to the U.S. what Christmas gift it will select to get." The comments came amid increasing frustrations over a lack of a breakthrough in nuclear talks between the two countries.
During the Christmas Eve conference, Trump went on to say the U.S. will deal with the surprise, whatever it may be, "very successfully," adding that "everybody" has "surprises" for him and that he "handles them as they come along."
Trump also revealed during the teleconference that he has yet to get a gift for first lady Melania Trump. Perhaps he could get her some flowers for the vase.
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Marianne is The Week’s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.
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