President Trump claimed during his historic visit to North Korea on Sunday that former President Barack Obama tried and failed to meet with North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, but former staffers have denounced that statement.
“President Obama wanted to meet and Chairman Kim would not meet him. The Obama administration was begging for a meeting. They were begging for meetings constantly and Chairman Kim would not meet with him,” Trump claimed during a press conference.
However Former Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes refuted the president’s claim, saying “Trump is lying.”
“Trump is lying. I was there for all 8 years. Obama never sought a meeting with Kim Jong Un. Foreign policy isn’t reality television it’s reality,” Mr. Rhodes tweeted.
“North Korea’s nuclear program has grown since Trump first met with Kim. Kim knows Trump just wants photo ops and Trump knows most US media will give him a win for a photo op. So here we are,” he added, hitting the media’s coverage of Mr. Trump walking over the demilitarized zone into North Korea.
Additionally, former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper said Mr. Obama expressed no interest in trying to meet the North Korean leader during his six years in the administration.
“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. That’s news to me,” Mr. Clapper said to CNN.
Mr. Trump on Sunday became the first sitting U.S. president to step foot into North Korea.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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