Former NBA star Dennis Rodman — who befriended North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un years ago — will be in Singapore when President Trump arrives in the city for a much anticipated nuclear summit according to The New York Post.
“The Worm will arrive in the country a day before the June 12 sitdown — and sources said he could even play some sort of role in the negotiations,” the news organization said.
“No matter what you might think about his presence. One thing’s for sure the ratings will be huge. A lot of times in situations that involve complex diplomacy countries like to identify ambassadors of goodwill and whether you agree with it or not Dennis Rodman fits the bill,” an unnamed source told the paper.
Mr. Rodman struck up an “unlikely bromance” with Kim, and has visited the isolated nation regime five times in past, presenting with a copy of Mr. Trump’s 1987 best-seller “the Art of the Deal” during his last visit in 2017.
The two first met when Mr. Rodman visited North Korea four years earlier with a film crew from VICE; their encounter and the visit itself later became a documentary which aired on HBO. Exhibition basketball games followed in subsequent visits.
“Sports exchanges can be valuable. Sports diplomacy can be valuable. And it’s something that we pursue in many places around the world, including through direct support. But this is a private trip,” then-White House spokesman Jay Carney later told the inquisitive press.
“Ping pong diplomacy worked in China, and basketball seems to work in North Korea,” Jesse Jackson also noted in a tweet at the time.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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