Trump: 'I Probably Have a Very Good Relationship' With Kim

President says he often ends up embracing his former enemies
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 12, 2018 6:55 AM CST
Trump: 'I Probably Have a Very Good Relationship' With Kim
In this Aug. 10, 2017, file photo, a man watches a TV screen showing President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea.   (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

President Trump's relationship with one of his favorite public targets might be better than you think, at least from Trump's perspective. "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un," Trump tells the Wall Street Journal in an interview. "I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised." Asked whether he's spoken directly to Kim, Trump hedged. "I’m not saying I have or haven’t. I just don’t want to comment." So how to explain this possible warmer-than-realized relationship with the man he has called a "maniac" and "short and fat"—and been called a "mentally deranged dotard" in return? "You’ll see that a lot with me,” he says. "All of the sudden somebody’s my best friend. I could give you 20 examples. You could give me 30. I’m a very flexible person."

Another nugget from the wide-ranging interview involves his long-stated vow to make Mexico pay for a border wall. For the first time, Trump suggested this might happen indirectly, though NAFTA, which is currently being re-negotiated. "We make a good deal on NAFTA, and, say, 'I’m going to take a small percentage of that money and it’s going toward the wall.' Guess what? Mexico’s paying." Click for the full transcript of the sit-down talk, in which Trump suggests that his current split with Steve Bannon might not be a permanent one. (More President Trump stories.)

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