Freedom Kids lawsuit, sexual harassment claims, ‘Rocket Man’: 5 Trump controversies you might've forgotten
Calling North Korea dictator 'Rocket Man'
Many Americans are aware of Trump’s practice of giving disparaging nicknames to political opponents, famously calling Hillary Clinton “Crooked Hillary” and Marco Rubio “Little Marco.”
What might have been forgotten was that time in December 2019 when Trump called North Korean Communist dictator Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man,” referring to his tendency to test fire nuclear missiles and in reference to the Elton John song.
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Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s vice foreign minister, said at the time that the Communist government “cannot contain its displeasure toward President Trump’s remark that was blurted out in an inappropriate manner at a highly sensitive time.”
Tensions between the two world leaders would eventually calm, with Trump later recounting that he had assured Kim directly that the nickname was not meant to be an insult.
“‘I called you Rocket Man — that was great — because I could see you, I could envisage you, sitting like you sit on a horse, on a saddle, sitting on a rocket flying over Japan,” said Trump, as quoted by New York Daily News.
