House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Thursday that President Donald Trump pulling out of a planned meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is a victory for the dictator.
Trump announced his decision the same morning in a letter warning North Korea not to use its nuclear weapons, but Pelosi called the letter "palsy-walsy" and "like a Valentine." She said Kim is a "thug" being "legitimized" by Trump in the recent negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear program.
"[Kim] got global recognition and regard. He’s the big winner," she said. "When he got this letter from the president saying, ‘Never mind’– he must be having a giggle fit right there now."
The meeting was scheduled for June 12 in Singapore. In his letter, Trump thanked Kim for releasing U.S. hostages and expressed the hope that he could meet Kim in the future, but he also criticized Kim for his conduct and blamed him for the meeting not occurring.
"Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting," Trump said, referring to a statement from a senior North Korean official that referred to Vice President Mike Pence as, among other things, a "dummy."
Pelosi reiterated that Kim was benefitting from the meeting being canceled, and she asserted Trump wasn’t prepared for the meeting.
"Clearly, it takes preparation, which the president didn’t make. It’s clear he didn't know what he was getting into, and now he’s walking away from it in this very chummy, palsy-walsy letter to Kim Jong Un. He, Kim Jong Un, is the big winner."
"It’s kinda like a valentine to Kim Jong Un," she added. "Really? Really?"
Pelosi said Trump was not deferential enough to the State Department and argued he took steps to "deplete" the department.