President Trump said on Friday that he wants “his people” to listen to him like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s people listen to him.
“He’s the head of a country. And I mean, he is the strong head,” Trump said of Kim in remarks from the White House north lawn to “Fox & Friends.”
“Don’t let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same,” Trump said.
It wasn’t clear what Trump meant by “his people” and “my people,” phrasings that could be interpreted to mean all North Koreans and Americans but that could also mean those people reporting directly to the two leaders.
Steve Doocy, the Fox reporter who conducted the interview, did not ask a direct follow-up question to clarify.
Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn after the Fox interview, Trump was pressed on what he meant when he said that he wanted his “people” so listen to him like the North Koreans listen to Kim.
“I was kidding,” he said. “You don’t understand sarcasm.”
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for clarification.
The president praised Kim during the Fox interview, a continuation of compliments he has offered the dictator since their summit in Singapore.
He said that he had “hit it off” with the North Korean premier.
“We get along very well, we had good chemistry,” Trump said.
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JUST IN: Trump: I want Americans to listen to me like North Koreans listen to Kim Jong Un https://t.co/v66tJHHPF4 pic.twitter.com/OC9a6atvnV
— The Hill (@thehill) June 15, 2018
Let's take Trump's "sit up" statement in the most favorable light for him. Let's say he was merely talking about his immediate staff.
It's still utterly goddamn egregious ball-washing of a violent dictator who kills his family, staff, and people for sport.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) June 15, 2018
Rick, chill. Remember Gorsuch and tax cuts. No other Republican could have ever done those things. You get so worked up over Trump’s admiration of a violent dictator and his lack of concern for liberty and his disdain for a free press. It’s 456-dimensional chess, you rube.
— Brian Fraley (@Dailytakes) June 15, 2018
Trump says he wants people to treat him like North Koreans treat Kim Jung Un.
Really. pic.twitter.com/C0K7awpMIV
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 15, 2018
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