Trump Continues His Obsequious Praise For A Bloody Dictator
Donald Trump said he wishes people would 'sit up and pay attention' to him the way they do in North Korea when Kim Jong Un speaks.
In an interview on Fox & Friends this morning, President Trump suggested that he’d like to be treated the way North Koreans treat Kim Jong Un:
President Donald Trump said Friday that he wants “my people” to “sit up at attention” the way North Koreans do for dictator Kim Jong Un.
The comment came during an impromptu interview with Fox News on the White House’s North Lawn, days after Trump met with Kim in Singapore as part of an effort to reach a denuclearization deal with Pyongyang. When asked about whether Kim would be visiting the White House any time soon, Trump responded “it could happen.” He then went on to praise the dictator for being a strong leader.
“He’s the head of a country and I mean he is the strong head,” Trump said to Fox. “Don’t let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.”
When later asked by another reporter to expand on the remark, Trump said he was “kidding.”
“You don’t understand sarcasm,” he added.
It’s not clear if Trump was referring to his staff or to a broader set of Americans when he referred to “my people.”
Here’s the video of Trump’s comment on Fox & Friends:
Trump says he wants people to treat him like North Koreans treat Kim Jung Un.
Really. pic.twitter.com/C0K7awpMIV
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 15, 2018
And here’s the video of his talk to reporters after that interview when he claims he was just “kidding;”
Trump claims he was “kidding” when he said moments ago that he wanted Americans to “stand at attention” for him like North Koreans do for Kim Jong Un. pic.twitter.com/r0eE3ZyItL
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 15, 2018
Whether Trump was kidding or not, and whether he was referring to his White House Staff or the American people when he said that he wished that his “people” would sit up at attention when he speaks is something I’ll leave to the reader to judge. However, one must take into account the fact that Trump has been exceedingly obsequious in his praise for Kim Jong Un ever since the Singapore Summit and that he has essentially dismissed questions about the Kim regime’s atrocious human rights record, which has included imprisoning dissidents, killing people accused of crimes against the state, and denying even basic freedoms to the people of the DPRK for the past seven decades. Additionally, footage of his meeting with Kim Jong Un showed Trump returning the salute of a North Korean General who has been at the top of the leadership, and thus no doubt responsible for numerous human rights abuses himself.
In other interviews in the wake of the summit, the President referred to Kim as a funny guy who “loves his people.” This is the same person who stands at the top of a regime that has held the North Korean people in bondage for the past seventy-three years, has locked dissidents into concentration camps, and has executed people on a whim, including members of his own family. When he was specifically reminded of the crimes against humanity that Kim has committed, the President said that Kim was “tough” and “smart” and essentially dismissed the fact that he had shaken hands with a man who has the blood of millions on his hands, including the blood of Otto Warmbier, whose torture-induced death he bizarrely claimed led to his Photo Op Summit. While this is consistent with Trump’s admiration for other dictators such as President al-Sisi in Egypt, the Saud family in Saudi Arabia, President Rodrigo Dueterte of The Philippines, Xi Jinping, and, of course, Vladimir Putin, it is nonetheless absolutely sickening to see a President of the United States so dismissive of human rights abuses and the reality of dictatorship. For Donald Trump, though, it’s just another day at the office.
Trump believes that there is a moral equivalence between the US, North Korea, Russia, China, Turkey and who knows who else. What he really believes is that there is a moral equivalence between him, Kim, Putin, Xi, Erdogen and others of that ilk.
Why shouldn’t we take him seriously?
Well, if Wilbur Ross dozes off during a cabinet meeting, Trump can have him shot with anti-aircraft guns. Or atomized by a mortar round. That should get the point across.
I shouldn’t be, but I am still surprised at how many GOP voters will, literally, excuse ANY behavior by Trump, no matter how much it goes against their previous “principles”.
While I disagree with them vehemently, I do respect Bill Kristol, Max Boot, Charlie Sikes, Bob Corker, Jeff Flake and others who have held on to their principles and refuse to join Trump Team.
I’m still grateful for Dennison’s incompetence. Right now that’s the only check there is on him.
From a February 28, 2016 National Review article, titled, “Trump Isn’t Upset by the Obama Era, He’s Always Been a Wannabe Mussolini”:
@Monala:
Of course that’s what Trump thinks leadership is. It’s the way he’s always run his sleazy enterprise: by bullying his underlings, except for Ivanka, and that’s only because he lusts after her, by his own admission. Remember when he said what pleasure he took in suing writers who didn’t depict him as the Godlike being he feels he is? “It costs me a few dollars and bankrupts them.” Remember how he drove that elderly lady in Atlantic City out of her house?
The only reason Trump will never become another Putin, Kim, Duterte, or Erdogan is that beneath the bluster, he’s a sniveling, pusillanimous little chickensh!t coward.
Good article, by the way.
@EddieInCA: “While I disagree with them vehemently, I do respect Bill Kristol, Max Boot, Charlie Sikes, Bob Corker, Jeff Flake and others who have held on to their principles and refuse to join Trump Team.”
IIRC, neither of the last two have yet cast a vote against him. They’re just smack-talkers.
@Barry: I won’t respect any Republicans in Congress until they start using their oversight and confirmation power to reign in at least some of the corruption.
I can entertain the notion that someone wants to gut the EPA’s regulatory ability to promote jobs. I cannot entertain the notion that someone thinks what Scott Pruitt is doing is at all ok. This one is easy, and the only reason not to take a hard stand against it is pure political cronyism.
@Gustopher: Trump’s ignorance, meanness, bellicosity, racism, and self-absorption have captured the hearts and minds of the republican voters. Republican politicians are afraid to act against him lest they be cast into the RINO darkness.
@teve tory:
Granted, it’s Breitbart that’s “reporting” this, but “Rep Steve King (R-IA) told Breitbart News earlier this evening that House Republicans are considering forcibly removing House Speaker Paul Ryan from the speakership…over Ryan’s efforts to undermine President Donald Trump’ s agenda.”
“He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.”
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Trump
It’s clear to me that he is talking about all American Citizens.
@CSK: I hope they do it. I want the entire GOP to handcuff themselves to Trump and swallow the key.
A decent political messaging shop would make bank on this. This and Trump saluting the NoKo general.
@CSK:
North Korea is somewhere around 95th to 100th in national economic power in the world. Imagine you are an opportunistic dictator of a nation with a bigger economy than NoKorea. Would these recent events increase or decrease your development of nuclear weapons?
@teve tory:
King’s excuse is that he claims not to know who the guy is.
From 50,000 feet…
A President who spends :45 minutes on the WH driveway lying to the American people.
Policy that takes children from their parents.
Allowing an attack from Russia to go unchecked, while it continues into the ‘18 mid-terms.
An incredible number of the Presidents circle pleading guilty or indicted.
Millions about to be tossed off their insurance.
Taking steps to allow more pollution.
Taking steps to make it easier for financial institutions to cheat people. To discriminate.
Taking steps to make workers less safe.
From 50,000 feet…this is not America.
@CSK: I believe that the same way I believe Paul Ryan has never heard of this ‘Scott Pruitt’ fella.
@Daryl:
This is not America
Shala la la la
A little piece of you
The little peace in me
Will die
For this is not America
.
Bowie. Prescient.
@EddieInCA:
Pretty easy to understand if you follow team sports at all. The ref calls someone on your team for an obvious penalty, and many (if not most) fans will argue that it shouldn’t have been called, the other side got away with it just a few plays ago, it wasn’t really that bad, etc.
The ref calls someone on the opponent’s team for the same foul, and its a good call, a completely different play than what your guy did, and comparing the two is “whataboutism”.
Politics is like team sports, except the analysis of team sports tends to be better, possibly because most people played some team sports as kids, but very few people have ever taken part in politics.
Trump is that pitcher who throws spitballs, the batter using a corked bat, the tackle who facemasks his opponent and so on. And no one cheering for his team is going to care so long as the team is winning.
Now if we could only convince his fans that the team is America and not a political party, then they’d drop him in a second. But right now things are still becoming more rather than less partisan, so I’m not holding my breath for that to happen.
Trump says he gave Kim a direct cell number to him. Security experts say 1) that’s a terrible idea 2) because of his other practices he’s probly already hacked multiple ways anyway.
https://www.wired.com/story/trum-kim-jong-un-direct-number-bad-idea/
Wow, are you that delusional? Well, look who you support, of course you are…
I wouldn’t doubt if he did the same with other dictators around the world…they are his favorite people…
@An Interested Party:
Donald dreams of dictators
I suppose he could just go back to calling him names and thereby bringing us CLOSER AND CLOSER TO NUCLEAR WAR EVERY DAY OMG!
I mean, you complained about that too.
And now that he’s being more Diplomatic, that’s bad too.
Never Trumpers are pathetic.
Hell, I’m old enough to remember when people praised Presidents for sending pallets full of cash to a nation that hangs people for being gay. And Presidents who posted dramatically in front of images of brutal Cuban murderers.