Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday that he's "rooting" for President Donald Trump's negotiations with North Korea.
Swalwell, a frequent critic of Trump, was asked by Blitzer if he gives Trump credit after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo negotiated the release of three Americans captured by North Korea. A date and location were also scheduled for Trump's summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
"I'm rooting him on, Wolf," Swalwell said. "Good work in getting these prisoners back to the United States, and I hope that he is able to prepare and understand what we want out of this and able to articulate what our objectives are to Kim Jong Un, but also able to listen so that he can relay back to our policymakers what Kim Jong Un wants, how he sees North Korea's role in the world and what he is willing to do to denuclearize so that we can verify and monitor that they are indeed doing this and that we are not just being punked by them."
Blitzer then asked Swalwell if he was optimistic about the summit next month in Singapore. Swalwell said he was, but paired it with a warning.
"You know, Wolf, I am," Swalwell said. "We have been able to make a step here that we have not seen in the past."
"We have to be, you know, realistic. This is a regime that in the past has made promises like this and has failed to live up to them, but, you know, credit to where credit's due and I'm rooting for success here, but the president is going to have to do two things that he has not shown that he has been able to do, which is prepare and listen," Swalwell said. "If he can do that, then it really puts the ball in the North Koreans' court and we'll see how serious they are."