Warfare
trumps trade : Donald discusses North Korea, media, politics &
Russia
30 April, 2017
Donald
Trump has discussed his first 100 days in an interview aired on CBS
Sunday. The wide-ranging interview saw the president give his
opinions on North Korea, Democrats, his tax returns and of course,
Russia.
North Korea
Trump
described North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a “smart
cookie,” and
dismissed the suggestions that his efforts to pressure North Korea
had failed in light of Pyongyang's recent missile test.
Trump
said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would not be happy should
North Korea carry out a nuclear test.
“The
relationship I have with China, it's been already acclaimed as being
something very special, something very different than we've ever
had.” Trump
said.
He
denied the suggestion that by working with China on North Korea he
was sending a message that the US would turn a blind eye to its human
rights record and trade issues. “North
Korea is maybe more important than trade. Trade is very important.
But massive warfare with millions, potentially millions of people
being killed? That, as we would say, trumps trade.”
Media
When
asked what he has learned since taking office, Trump said “how
dishonest the media is.”
Trump
told interviewer John Dickerson that he referred to Dickerson’s Face
the Nation show
as “Deface
the Nation,”and
accused it of being “not
exactly correct.”
Democrats
Trump
accused Democrats of being “totally
obstructionist” and
called Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer a “bad
leader.”
“All
they do is obstruct. All they do is delay,” he
said. “Even
our Supreme Court justice, as you know, who I think is going to be
outstanding, Justice Gorsuch. I think that it was disgraceful the way
they handled that.”
Trump
was referring to delays in voting to confirm Gorsuch, who was
confirmed nine weeks after being nominated. President Barack Obama’s
Supreme Court nomination, Merrick Garland, was delayed for a year
following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in
February 2016.
Republicans
refused to even hold confirmation hearings for Garland, leaving the
Supreme Court with one less judge for close to 14 months.
Healthcare
Trump
said, “Obamacare
is dead,” but
dodged Dickerson’s requests for specifics on how his healthcare
bill has been fixed.
“This
bill has evolved,” he
said. “And
we didn't have a failure on the bill. You know, it was reported like
a failure.”
When
pressed, Trump said pre-existing conditions would be covered and
promised “such
competition” with
insurers to drive down premiums.
Tax Returns
When
asked about his intention to release his tax returns, Trump said he
was still under audit, and that his tax return was “very
big.”
“I
think it's a very unfair thing because I have been under audit
almost, like, since I became famous, okay?” he
added.
Russia
Trump
described stories about ties between Russia and the Trump campaign
as “phoney,” and
that he doesn’t know if Russia meddled in the US elections.
“You
have Podesta [Hillary
Clinton’s campaign chair whose emails were hacked] who,
by the way, I understand has a company with his brother in Russia.
Hillary's husband makes speeches in Russia. Hillary did a uranium
deal with Russia. Nobody ever talks about that. But I don't know
because the F.B.I. was not allowed by Podesta to go in and check all
of the records on their servers and everything else that you would
normally have to check. That's number one.”
“Number
two, knowing something about hacking, if you don't catch a hacker,
okay, in the act, it's very hard to say who did the hacking. With
that being said, I'll go along with Russia. Could've been China,
could've been a lot of different groups.”
"It's
important, I think, for all of us to confront this regime..."
Trump Says “We’ll See” To Nuclear Conflict With North Korea
President
Trump has told CBS that he is considering using nuclear force against
North Korea in response to their latest missile test.
In
an interview with CBS’ John Dickerson on ‘Face the Nation’ on
Sunday, the President said he was deeply disturbed by Kim Jong-un’s
continued provocations against the US and hinted that he is preparing
a military strike against the country.
When
asked asked if the pressure Trump has applied to Pyongyang has
worked, Trump stressed the importance of his relationship with
China’s President Xi JinPing.
“This
was a small missile. This was not a big missile. This was not a
nuclear test, which he was expected to do three days ago. We’ll see
what happens,” he said, referring to the launch of aKN-17 ballistic
missile on Friday.
Latimes.com
reports:
The
test did not take place, but North Korea has continued with other
actions the U.S. and its regional allies regard as provocations,
including a failed test on Saturday of a mid-range ballistic missile.
Kim’s government is known to be working to develop an
intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the United
States.
Asked
in the CBS interview if a North Korea nuclear test would prompt U.S.
military action, Trump replied: “I don’t know. I mean, we’ll
see.”
Trump
appeared to offer grudging praise for Kim, noting that he took over
North Korea when he was 26 or 27 after his father died and has
consolidated power despite challenges from the military and members
of his family.
“A
lot of people, I’m sure, tried to take that power away, whether it
was his uncle or anybody else,” he said. “And he was able to do
it. So obviously, he’s a pretty smart cookie.”
In
a separate interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.) was asked if Trump was considering a pre-emptive
strike against North Korea, especially if there were indications that
it had developed a delivery system capable of carrying a nuclear
weapon. “I don’t think so,” he said.
“I
think we have to consider that option as the very last option,”
said McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee. He cited
an array of dangers associated with any outbreak of hostilities on
the Korean peninsula, including North Korea’s ability to strike
Seoul with conventional artillery.
“The
major lever on North Korea, maybe the only lever, is China,” he
said.
Amid
rising tensions with North Korea, the Trump administration has been
sending mixed signals about its dealings with South Korea, long a
bedrock regional ally.
Trump
rattled many in South Korea last week when he said in at least two
interviews that Seoul should pay $1 billion for a sophisticated
missile defense system that the U.S. and South Korea have begun
installing. The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD,
is intended to become operational within a matter of days.
South
Korea’s presidential office said Sunday that Trump’s national
security advisor, H.R. McMaster, had offered reassurances that
Washington would not try to make Seoul bear the cost. In an interview
aired Sunday, McMaster confirmed that was the case — for now.
“What
I told our South Korean counterpart is that until any re-negotiation,
that the deal’s in place, we’ll adhere to our word,” McMaster
said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Senior
Trump administration officials are often put in the position of
walking back Trump’s comments, including many on foreign affairs,
without seeming to directly contradict the president.
In
this instance, McMaster sought to put Trump’s comments in the
context of looking at “appropriate burden-sharing” across all
U.S. alliances.
“The
question of what is the relationship on THAAD, on our defense
relationship going forward, will be renegotiated, as it’s going to
be with all our allies,” McMaster said. “Because what the
president has said is, he will prioritize American citizens’
security and interests.”
‘Very last option’: McCain skeptical about preemptive strike on N.Korea
Washington’s war hawk, John McCain, who applauded Trump for bombing an airbase in Syria earlier in April, said the US should rely on China’s diplomacy instead of own military might in solving the North Korean crisis.
When
asked on CNN's "State of the Union" if Donald Trump is
considering a preemptive strike against North Korea over its ongoing
nuclear tests, McCain replied: “I don’t think so.”
The
Republican Senator, who dined with the president on Monday, said the
key to solving the crisis in the Korean Peninsula is China.
“The
Chinese can put the brakes on this [Pyongyang’s nuclear program]. I
do not believe that [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un is going to do
that by himself. I don't think he's irrational, but I don't think
he's concerned about the welfare of his people to say, the least,”
he said.
Discussion
on CNN
Congressman
Duffy Says A Preemptive Strike IS Acceptable If It Stops North
Korea's Nuclear Program
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