Trump: ‘I told Kim to relax and chill’

“(I told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un), ‘Relax, chill. You have enough nuclear weapons already.'”

On his first joint campaign appearance with Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance since the Republican National Convention, U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump once again flaunted his close relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump, who emphasized ‘unity’ following the assassination attempt, also criticized President Joe Biden as a ‘threat to democracy,’ renewing a stance he had been taking before.

At a joint campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, one of the battleground states, on Saturday, Trump reiterated the ‘bromance’ with Kim that he flaunted when he accepted the nomination. “I had a good relationship with the leader of an adversarial country, so America was safe. I got along well with Kim,” he said. “I said, ’Let's go to a (New York) Yankees game, I'll show you what baseball is all about.” However, Trump stopped short of saying when these conversations took place.

He also mentioned Chinese President Xi Jinping. “President Xi sent me a beautiful note (after the assassination attempt),” Trump said while calling Xi ”a smart, strong leader.”


김윤진 kyj@donga.com