Former national security adviser blasts Trump lie on Obama and North Korea: 'Horse-sh*t'
Trump lied when he said President Obama ‘begged’ to meet North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un.
Three of President Obama’s top national security officials publicly denounced Trump for lying about Obama’s actions toward the murderous dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Un.
“President Obama wanted to meet and Chairman Kim would not meet him. The Obama Administration was begging for a meeting,” Trump said Sunday after meeting with Kim in North Korea. “They were begging for meetings constantly and Chairman Kim would not meet with him.”
“At the risk of stating the obvious, this is horse-sh*t,” Susan Rice, who served as Obama’s U.N. ambassador and national security adviser, responded.
Rice’s admonition was echoed by other high-level officials who dealt with national security under Obama.
“Trump is lying. I was there for all 8 years. Obama never sought a meeting with Kim Jong Un,” Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, wrote on Twitter.
James Clapper, Obama’s director of national intelligence, went on CNN to denounce Trump’s false statements.
“I don’t know where he’s getting that,” Clapper said Sunday. “In all the deliberations I participated in on North Korea during the Obama administration I can recall no instance whatever where President Obama ever indicated any interest whatsoever in meeting with Chairman Kim.”
Trump’s fictitious comments followed an hourlong meeting with Kim on North Korean soil, with Trump becoming the first U.S. president to visit that country.
Experts questioned the wisdom of Trump’s actions, which seemed more focused on getting positive media coverage and a good photo-op than resolving ongoing issues with North Korea.
The meeting was “strong on optics but weak on substance,” Andrei Lankov, a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, told the Washington Post.
“I’m not against diplomacy but this is Reality TV,” Victor Cha, George W. Bush’s top adviser on North Korea, said in response to the meeting, describing it as “a circus.”
If nothing of substance comes of the meeting, Cha added, it will be “just some nice pics and pageantry.”
Trump’s second meeting with Kim was a disaster. Despite Trump trading love letters back and forth with Kim, there has been little to show for his efforts other than photo-ops and lies.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
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