Trump: Kim Is a 'Smart Cookie'

Touches on trade, North Korea, China, the presidency in wide-ranging interview
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 30, 2017 12:08 PM CDT
Trump: Kim Is a 'Smart Cookie'
In this April 24, 2017, photo, President Trump, accompanied by daughter Ivanka Trump, talks via video conference with Commander Peggy Whitson on the International Space Station from the Oval Office.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, file)

As part of the brouhaha surrounding President Trump's first 100 days in office, the new leader of the free world sat down with Face the Nation and gave a wide-ranging interview that touched on North Korea, the realities of the presidency, Democrats, and China. Some highlights:

  • On Kim Jong Un: "People are saying, "Is he sane?" I have no idea. ... He was a young man of 26 or 27 when he took over from his father. He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others. And at a very young age, he was able to assume power. A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie."

  • On getting China to lean on North Korea: "And if I can use trade as a method to get China, because I happen to think that China does have reasonably good powers over North Korea. Now, if China can help us with North Korea and can solve that problem ... that's worth making not as good a trade deal for the United States, right?"
  • On Democrats: "The Democrats have been totally obstructionist. Chuck Schumer has turned out to be a bad leader. He's a bad leader for the country. And the Democrats are extremely obstructionist."
  • On the presidency: "I love doing it. I'm, you know, thoroughly enjoying it. It's always a challenge, like life itself is a challenge. But it's something that I really love and I think I've done a very good job at it. ... It's a tough job. But I've had a lot of tough jobs. I've had things that were tougher, although I'll let you know that better at the end of eight years. Perhaps eight years."
  • On his nickname for Face the Nation: "I love your show. I call it Deface the Nation. But, you know, your show is sometimes not exactly correct."
The full transcript of the interview is here. Trump also penned an op-ed for the Washington Post here. (More President Trump stories.)

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