Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump told her to 'take one for the team' after Kim Jong Un seemingly winked at her

Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 2 September 2020

If it weren't already clear, President Trump should absolutely, positively not be handing out dating advice.

In her memoir Speaking for Myself out next Tuesday, former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders describes how North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seemingly winked at her while she was taking notes for Trump during a meeting. And when she told Trump what happened, he suggested a bit of unorthodox diplomacy, The Guardian reports via the book.

During Trump and Kim's 2018 summit in Singapore, the two leaders talked about women's soccer and shared some Tic Tacs after Trump assured Kim they weren't poison, Sanders writes in the book. Sanders took notes during their discussions and when she looked up from them, she "notice[d] Kim staring at me. We made direct eye contact and Kim nodded and appeared to wink at me. I was stunned. I quickly looked down and continued taking notes." Sanders goes on to write that "All I could think was, 'What just happened? Surely Kim Jong Un did not just mark me!?'"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

When Sanders, Trump, and then-Chief of Staff John Kelly Trump's limo, she told them what happened. "Kim Jong-un hit on you! He did! He f---ing hit on you!" Trump apparently responded. Sanders told Trump to stop, but he just went on with the jokes. "Well, Sarah, that settles it. You're going to North Korea and taking one for the team! Your husband and kids will miss you, but you'll be a hero to your country!" Huckabee recalls Trump saying. Kelly and Trump then "howled with laughter," Sanders writes, and the car drove away. Read more at The Guardian.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.