U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he wished people would “sit up at attention” for him like North Koreans do for their leader Kim Jong-un, a joke that sparked instant outrage on social media and cable news.
It was the latest example of a Trump remark about strongmen leaders — delivered in a deadpan style — to fall flat and fuel perceptions among his critics that the President admires autocrats.
Mr. Trump was asked during a Fox News Channel interview outside the West Wing if he would invite Mr. Kim to the White House. The two met earlier this week to begin to discuss Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, a summit marked by what Mr. Trump said was friendly chemistry between them.
Mr. Trump indicated a White House visit by Mr. Kim was possible: ”Hey he’s the head of a country,” Mr. Trump said. “He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same,” he said, pointing to the West Wing.
Mr. Kim is suspected of ordering the assassination of his half-brother in February and the execution of his uncle in 2013. UN investigations have also reported human rights violations.
Previous jokes
Mr. Trump was later asked by reporters what he meant by the remark. “I’m kidding. You don’t understand sarcasm,” he said. The joke was reminiscent of one he made at a private dinner with donors in March, when he noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping no longer faced term limits. “I said, ‘President for life. That sounds good. Maybe we are going to have to try it’,” he later said, recounting the outrage that followed. “But I’m joking,” he said, complaining about the reaction. “I’m joking about being President for life.”
At a rally in February, he said Democrats in Congress were treasonous because they did not clap at his State of the Union speech.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders later said he didn’t mean it: “The president was clearly joking with his comments,” she said.