Skip to content

Trump Says U.S. Meeting with North Korea in 3 to 4 Weeks

President frequently lashes out at political foes during Michigan rally

President Donald Trump, here at a rally in Michigan in April, was in Montana on Thursday to help state Auditor Matt Rosendale in his bid to oust Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. (Scott Olson/Getty Images file photo)
President Donald Trump, here at a rally in Michigan in April, was in Montana on Thursday to help state Auditor Matt Rosendale in his bid to oust Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. (Scott Olson/Getty Images file photo)

The long awaited meeting between the United States and North Korea is likely to occur before the end of May, President Donald Trump suggested Saturday evening during a rally in Washington, Michigan.

“I think we’ll have a meeting over the next three or four weeks,” Trump said. “It will be a very important meeting.”

“Whatever happens, happens,” Trump said of the meeting, noting he may go in and ultimately leave. “I’m not going to be a John Kerry who makes a horrible Iran deal.”

Trump said he is hopeful the negotiation will be successful.

“We’re going to be doing the world a big favor,” he said. “Let’s see how it goes. I think we’ll do fine. I think we’ll do just fine.”

But the president acknowledged that what might happen isn’t certain.

“I’m not going to give you what actually is going to happen, because we don’t know,” he said. “But I’ll tell you one thing, we’re not playing games.”

About that time, the crowd started cheering “Nobel” — seemingly suggesting that Trump should earn the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the denuclearization talks.

South Korea President Moon Jae-in just concluded his own meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Moon and Trump spoke about the meeting by phone Saturday.

Trump said he saw someone on the news questioning what he had to do with the talks between the North and South.

“I’ll tell you what — like how about everything?” he said. “And even President Moon said that.”

Tester, Stabenow attacks

While Trump used most of the rally to talk about what he claimed as his administration’s accomplishments, he also took shots at his political rivals.

The president continued his attacks on Sen. Jon Tester, accusing the Montana Democrat of using “innuendo” to “destroy” Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, Trump’s military physician.

Jackson withdrew his nomination to head the Department of Veterans Affairs after Tester released allegations from whistleblowers that he was intoxicated during working hours, crashed a government vehicle, handed out prescription drugs too freely and fostered a hostile work environment.

The Secret Service looked into the allegations and said they’re not true, Trump said.

Watch: Trump’s Support of VA Pick Before His Withdrawal

[jwp-video n=”1″]

Earlier Saturday Trump had used a tweet to call on Tester to resign. At the rally he urged his election defeat and suggested that he has some dirt on the senator that he could share to ensure that outcome.

“I know things about Tester that I could say too,” he said. “And if I said them, he’d never be elected again.”

Trump also fired shots at Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Michigan’s senior senator. He even blamed the crowd for her election even though they booed at the mention of her name.

“She voted against Kate’s law. She voted against tax cuts. She votes against borders …. and you people just keep putting her back again and again and again,” Trump said. “It’s your fault. So you need to get to the polls.”

Trump’s attacks weren’t limited to Democrats in the Senate.

Nancy Pelosi and her gang, they’ve got to be voted out of office,” he said, referring to the House minority leader and the Democratic Caucus.

“We’ve got to win the House. And you know what, we’re going to win anyway,” Trump said.

‘Cannot get complacent’

The president acknowledged that historically the party that wins the presidency one cycle typically does poorly in the midterms the following cycle, but blamed that previous power holders getting complacent.

“We cannot get complacent,” he said.

Trump predicted that Republicans will do well in both House and Senate races because the economy is good.

“And if you look at us all around the world we’re respected again,” he said. “We’re not pushovers.”

Trump mentioned this week’s visit from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the crowd booed. The automobile industry is big in Michigan and German manufacturers like Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW are competition for Detroit-area General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler.

“Don’t blame them,” Trump said of Germany. “Blame the people that used to stand here, with much smaller crowds, but that’s OK,” he said, referring to previous presidents.

Trump mentioned the automobile industry when speaking about trade with China.

“When we sell a car into China, number one they don’t want it because they have barriers,” he said, claiming that even if it was taken there, China would charge a 25 percent tariff.

China tells the U.S. manufacturers that it won’t take their cars because it wants them to build their factories in China, Trump said. he said he’s now enforcing the reverse through his trade policy.

“Build your factories here if you want to sell your cars in the United States,” he said.

Rapper support

While speaking about the economy, Trump gave a shout-out to rapper Kayne West, who recently made several public declarations of support for Trump, including a song released Friday.

“Kayne West gets it. … When he sees that African American unemployment is the lowest level in history, you know people are watching,” the president said. “That’s a very important thing he’s done for his legacy.”

Trump also mentioned Democrats who are calling for his impeachment.

“If you listen to Maxine Waters, she goes around saying, ‘We will impeach him. We will impeach him,’ Then people say, ‘But he hasn’t done anything wrong,’” he said.

“I don’t think we’re going to have a lot of happy people if that happens,” he said.

Trump mentioned the White House Correspondents’ Dinner taking place while he was at the rally. He said he was happy to decline the invitation to attend.

“I’d much rather be in Washington, Michigan than in Washington, D.C. right now,” he said when opening his speech.

Near the end of his roughly 80-minute speech, Trump brought up the dinner again.

“Is this better than that phony Washington White House Correspondents’ [dinner]?” he said. “I could be up there smiling like I love [when] they’re hitting you.”

Watch: Pelosi Says She Supports North Korea Talks

[jwp-video n=”2″]

 

Recent Stories

Capitol Ink | Whither Liberty?

Trump administration firings face first Supreme Court test

House Republicans call for show of strength in Eastern Europe

Capitol Lens | Wake-up call

The 1.47 percent mandate for chaos

Vote studies 2024: House GOP unity inched up as Senate Democrats set record