Americans should worry about Kim's mental fitness, not Trump's - White House

[webfact]

Americans should worry about Kim's mental fitness, not Trump's - White House

By David Brunnstrom and Christine Kim

 

A Tweet from the Twitter account of U.S. President Donald Trump, January 2, 2018. Donald Trump/Twitter/via REUTERS

 

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday defended Donald Trump's tweet about the size of his nuclear button, saying Americans should be concerned about the North Korean leader's mental fitness, not their president's.

 

On Tuesday, Trump responded to a New Year's Day speech in which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned he had a nuclear button on his desk by saying that his nuclear button "is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"

 

The tweet provoked strong criticism, especially from Trump's Democratic opponents, and former Vice President Joe Biden called it dangerously cavalier.

 

Asked whether Americans should be concerned about the president's mental fitness after he appeared to be speaking so lightly about nuclear threats, White House spokeswoman Sara Sanders told a regular news briefing:

 

"The president and the people of this country should be concerned about the mental fitness of the leader of North Korea.

 

"He's made repeated threats, he's tested missiles time and time again for years, and this is a president who's not going to cower down and who's not going to be weak and is going to make sure that he does what he's promised to do and that is stand up and protect the American people."

 

Trump and Kim have exchanged repeated insults in recent months in a crisis over North Korea's programme to develop nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the United States, raising alarm worldwide.

 

Trump has at times appeared to dismiss the prospect of a diplomatic solution and both sides have threatened to destroy each other.

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Trump had shown "really poor judgement."

 

"The only war that is worse than one that's intended, is one that is not intended," Biden was quoted as saying by CNN. "This is not a game. This is not about, you know, can I puff my chest out."

 

"The United States has a role in the world that the world has come to expect. I think the president is much, much too cavalier. And it's dangerous."

 

Senator Edward Markey, the top Democrat on the Senate's East Asia Subcommittee, said Trump's tweet "bordered on presidential malpractice, needlessly deepening a crisis and squandering a fresh opportunity to attempt diplomacy."

 

In his New Year speech, Kim warned that the entire United States was in range of North Korea nuclear missiles and added: "A nuclear button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a threat."

 

Kim said his country would focus in the coming year on mass producing nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles for operational deployment, but added that these would be used only if North Korea's security was threatened.

 

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told the Voice of America Trump was making clear that "America will not be bullied, America will not be threatened."

 

He said that while all options remained on the table, there was the opportunity for a peaceable solution to the crisis if "North Korea will abandon their nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions, if they will dismantle those programs."

 

HOTLINE REOPENED

 

In his address, Kim also said he was open to speaking with U.S. ally South Korea and would consider sending a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea in February.

 

U.S. officials have responded coolly to this overture and the State Department said North Korea "might be trying to drive a wedge" between Washington and Seoul.

 

On Tuesday, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Washington would not take any talks between North and South Korea seriously if they did not contribute to denuclearising North Korea.

 

Haley also said Washington was hearing reports that Pyongyang might be preparing to fire another missile and warned of even tougher steps in response if it did so.

 

On Tuesday, Seoul responded to Kim by proposing high-level discussions at the heavily armed Korean border next week, and on Wednesday North Korea reopened a border hotline that had been closed since February 2016.

 

South Korean officials at the border received a call from the North at 0630 GMT and officials on both sides conducted a conversation for about 20 minutes, South Korea's unification ministry said. It did not disclose the content of the discussion.

 

There was no immediate U.S. comment on the reopening of the hotline, although a State Department spokeswoman, Katina Adams, said Washington remained in close contact with Seoul "about a unified response to North Korea."

 

She said that as South Korea President Moon Jae-in had stated, "'the improvement of relations between North and South Korea cannot advance separately from resolving North Korea’s nuclear programme.'"

 

The reopening of the hotline came hours after the tweet from Trump, who has repeatedly mocked Kim as "Little Rocket Man".

 

Kim's New Year's Day speech followed a steep increase in missile launches by North Korea in 2017, as well as its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.

 

North Korea's KCNA news agency quoted Ri Son Gwon, chairman of North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, as saying talks with South Korea would aim to establish formal dialogue about sending a North Korean delegation to the Olympics.

 

"We will try to keep close communications with the south Korean side from sincere stand (sic) and honest attitude, true to the intention of our supreme leadership, and deal with the practical matters related to the dispatch of our delegation," he said.

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said both sides should seize the Olympics as an opportunity to improve ties and make concrete efforts towards alleviating tension.

 

(Graphic - North Korea visualised, click - http://tmsnrt.rs/2x60LA7)

 

(For multimedia coverage of North Korea, click https://www.reuters.com/north-korea/)

 

(Additional reporting by Joyce Lee in Seoul, Philip Wen in Beijing and David Brunnstrom and James Oliphant in Washington; Editing by David Alexander and James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-04

[lopburi3]

 

Not

[wombat]

Kim's mental state is controlled by China.

 

 

[stander]

Trump is an expert at manipulating perceptions, he is a master at trolling, and Kim Jong Un keeps taking the bait.

.

[tifino]

Kim might be smart enough to just wait a bit longer...

 

and see what happens to all the East coast?

 

  from the incoming Bomb Hurricane

 - to do half his job for him

[Bluespunk]

I think I’ll decide for myself whose mental health to worry about. 

[tifino]

... just saw that last little bit about the Olympics.

 

Can't wait till we see the two face each other off at  SlingShot

(who wears the biggest rubber)

[Andaman Al]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Americans should worry about Kim's mental fitness, not Trump's

Yes they should, so it really begs the question WHY are they worrying about Trump's? Hasn't THAT dawned on the White House?

[Stargeezr]

I hope we all live to see both of these 4 year olds when they are both kicked out of the sand box. The world may breath easier when this insanity ends.

Geezer

[jerojero]

Trump is such an egotistical retard, it's truly pathetic. Feel sorry for the majority of Americans who did not vote for him. And fear for the world with his ego and nuclear weapons at his disposal.

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[boomerangutang]

Trump's minders (babysitters) in the Oval Office know to only feed him pre-masticated pap that omits realism.  So, his knowledge of the outside world is more limited than the average ThaiVisa poster.  I jest not.  It's bad enough that he's a stupid man, but add to that his the curtailed/burnished data he gets from intel papers and people around him, ....and it's a bad equation.

 

Bush Jr. was out of the loop re; WMD in Iraq II, but that's nothing compared to what Trump is ignorant of. (apologies to English teachers who teach; never end a sentence with a preposition.

[Jingthing]

Americans should not listen to one word from the scandalous trump white house. Not to worry. Only the minority trump base does and their level of belief is debatable. 

[lopburi3]

12 minutes ago, riclag said:

It's sad that PT is being  demonized for current events and being criticized as mentally unfit for his rhetoric toward NK ,when actually its quiet clear who has the problem.

[riclag]

4 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

 

It's also disturbing that PT will be held as the villain, through public opinion if and when a war breaks out. The can kickers from the pass administrations are who should be held accountable by the haters of the POTUS. Sad!

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, riclag said:

It's also disturbing that PT will be held as the villain, through public opinion if and when a war breaks out. The can kickers from the pass administrations are who should be held accountable by the haters of the POTUS. Sad!

He wanted the job, right? Oh, yeah, now we know he really didn't. If he can't handle blame for bad things that happen under him, how is it he thinks he deserves credit for any good things. The baby man needs to man up, but of course we all know he never will. He doesn't get better. He gets worse. 

[bendejo]

Well, some people are giving this matter a bit of thought

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/01/trump-cog-decline/548759/

 

 

[riclag]

24 minutes ago, bendejo said:

Well, some people are giving this matter a bit of thought

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/01/trump-cog-decline/548759/

 

 

  Did you read the article?Lawmakers have to change the laws if they want to check the mental or physical fitness requirements. Don't hold your breath on that happening until at least 2024.Like I said in post#14,It's unmistakable who's rhetoric is disturbing .  

[stevenl]

So now the White House had officially declared Trump is not crazy. Too funny, and ridiculous it had to come to this.

[Redline]

2 hours ago, riclag said:

It's also disturbing that PT will be held as the villain, through public opinion if and when a war breaks out. The can kickers from the pass administrations are who should be held accountable by the haters of the POTUS. Sad!

He’s president, in case you didn’t know.  He’s responsible 

[Rimmer]

A couple of off topic posts have been removed

[Dap]

10 hours ago, stander said:

Trump is an expert at manipulating perceptions, he is a master at trolling, and Kim Jong Un keeps taking the bait.

.

Both talents to be proud of  

[Dap]

9 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

Yes they should, so it really begs the question WHY are they worrying about Trump's? Hasn't THAT dawned on the White House?

Methinks a bit of "redirection" at work here. 

[dunroaming]

11 hours ago, stander said:

Trump is an expert at manipulating perceptions, he is a master at trolling, and Kim Jong Un keeps taking the bait.

.

Well it's Trump who looks the real idiot here.  For the White House to have to defend the President over his mentality says it all really. 

 

Surprised we haven't heard anything about the Trump/Bannon spat yet?

[Scott]

A post violating Fair Use Policy has been removed.   You can only print the first three sentences and then a link to an article.  

 

 

[PremiumLane]

14 hours ago, stander said:

Trump is an expert at manipulating perceptions, he is a master at trolling, and Kim Jong Un keeps taking the bait.

.

Trump is an expert at ripping people off and being a rich entitled narcissist... anything else is just pure coincidence. 

[Rhys]

He be takin Lavar...

[wayned]

He's actually having a physical next week to prove he's fit!  How do they check for mental illness?

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.  

[Jingthing]

7 hours ago, wayned said:

He's actually having a physical next week to prove he's fit!  How do they check for mental illness?

He has no obligation to release any negative findings about his health, and he obviously won't. So the announcement about the physical is just cover PR that shouldn't fool anybody.

[bendejo]

18 hours ago, wayned said:

He's actually having a physical next week to prove he's fit!  How do they check for mental illness?

 

Same goofy doctor as last time who will write up whatever DT tells him?  Yeah, that will settle the matter.

This idea that DT is suddenly going to start telling the truth, well, whoever believes that....