INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Donald Trump expressed a
bewilderingly high degree of confidence after meeting with Kim Jong Un that the North Korean leader is personally committed to giving up the
nuclear weapons that ensure his grip on power."I think he might want to do this as much or maybe even more than me," the president said
during a 65-minute news conference on Tuesday, after spending four hours with Kim in Singapore."My whole life has been deals," he added
"I know when somebody wants a deal
I just feel very strongly - my instinct
- they want to make a deal.Eager to cement what he's calling "a very special bond" with Kim, Trump is giving someone the benefit of the
doubt who has done little or nothing to earn it."I do trust him, yeah," the president told ABC's George Stephanopoulos in an interview that
aired on "Good Morning America." "He really wants to do a great job for North Korea
He's de-nuking the whole place, and I think he's going to start very quickly
He really wants to do something I think terrific for their country." "We will have a terrific relationship, I have no doubt," Trump said
about Kim Jong Un.Trump's certitude about Kim's intentions was reminiscent of when George W
Bush proclaimed early in his presidency that he peered into Vladimir Putin's eyes, saw his soul and concluded that the Russian leader was
trustworthy."This is complete denuclearization," Trump insisted
"I really believe that it's going to go quickly
I really believe it's going to go fast
We will do it as fast as it can mechanically and physically be done."When a reporter at the news conference asked how he'll ensure Kim
follows through, Trump was dismissive: "Can you ensure anything Can I ensure you are going to be able to sit down properly when you sit
down"That's a far cry from Ronald Reagan's mantra during arms control talks with the Soviets: "Trust but verify.Instead, Trump attacked with
relish the three men who preceded him as commander in chief for their failure to do what he just had.The president said Kim, without
prompting, brought up North Korea's repeated failures to live up to deals with the United States
"He wants to get it done," Trump told his friend Sean Hannity on Fox News
"You know, you hear the whole thing about his father and other administrations or his grandfather
The fact is, and he brings that up, they weren't dealing with me! They were dealing with different people
I talked about (how) we have to de-nuke - his country has to be de-nuked - and he understood that
He didn't fight it."During the news conference, on foreign soil, he called out Barack Obama and Bill Clinton by name
"In one case, they took billions of dollars during the Clinton regime
And that was a terrible thing
And he actually brought it up to me," Trump said
"This is a much different time, and this is a much different president."Asked again why this time is different, Trump said that "maybe it
wasn't a priority" for the previous presidents to bring peace to the peninsula
(They'd all very strongly disagree.) "I don't think they honestly could have done it if it was a priority," he said
"I'm not just blaming President Obama
This goes back for 25 years. Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un sign documents that acknowledge the progress of the talks in
Singapore (Reuters)Trump does nothing to conceal his belief that he's smarter, tougher and a better negotiator than his predecessors
The same person who declared "I alone can fix it" when accepting the Republican nomination for president in 2016 believes that he alone
could make a deal with Kim.Showing his high regard for himself, Trump noting during his news conference that he will remember everything
that transpired during his conversations with Kim
"I don't have to verify because I have one of the great memories of all time," he said.Trump, who turns 72 this week, seemed quite taken
He really turned on the charm jets during their photo ops
He said it was "a great honor" to be with the 34-year-old, whom he repeatedly referred to as "Mr
Chairman.""We will have a terrific relationship, I have no doubt," Trump said of the ruthless totalitarian leader, who has murdered multiple
members of his family.The president noted during his news conference that Kim took over from his father at 26 years old and was able to
maintain control of the regime
"Well, he is very talented," Trump said
"You could take one out of 10,000, and they probably couldn't do it."Asked about human rights, the president said he briefly broached the
subject: "It was discussed relatively briefly compared to denuclearization
I think he wants to do things
He wants to do the right thing."Trump added that University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier, who was arrested while visiting the country
and died last year just days after release from a North Korean prison, "did not die in vain.""I think without Otto this would not have
"It was a terrible thing, it was brutal, but a lot of people started to focus on what was going on.""Absolutely, I will," Trump said when
