While the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un will likely go down as the more historic moment, but Dennis Rodman managed to steal the spotlight on Monday night itself thanks to his appearance on CNN. The NBA legend and North Korea whisperer was on hand in Singapore to support the face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, opening the door for his tearful interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo above.
Just arrived to Singapore for the Historical Summit! Looking forward to @POTUS having incredible success that the whole world will benefit by. Thank you @potcoin for supporting my mission! #Peace #Love #HistoricalSummit #Singapore #PresidentTrump #MarshallKimJongUn pic.twitter.com/XNDsyBjLv8
— Dennis Rodman (@dennisrodman) June 11, 2018
The moment that seems to overwhelm Rodman is how many reacted to him when he returned home from his visit to North Korea, noting that he received death threats:
“When I went back home, I got so many death threats. When I came home, I couldn’t even go home. I had to hide out for 30 days. But I kept my head up high, brother. I knew things were going to change.”
He also urged Trump to put his heart on the table with Kim Jong-un, pushing for some common ground between the two.
Dennis Rodman's advice to US President Trump: Go into the meeting with Kim Jong Un with your “heart on the table,” and focus on the future https://t.co/0A3J2NkWqy pic.twitter.com/HFFL5w0E17
— CNN (@CNN) June 12, 2018
The reactions to the appearance online have been strange, with many folks trying to wrap their heads around it. But Rodman does have one person who feels he is a legitimate help in the situation: Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper according to CNN:
“I saw a Dennis Rodman I’d never seen before in the course of that interview.”
“There’s a lot more depth there than I think meets the eye. And he does understand Kim Jong Un,” he added, noting that most other pundits “haven’t had that direct contact like he has.”
Meanwhile, at the summit itself, the actual depth of the meeting could be in question and certainly should raise a few eyebrows:
President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are chatting over a lunch of beef short ribs, sweet and sour crispy pork, and braised codfish.
Details released by the White House show that lunch began Tuesday with a prawn cocktail and avocado salad, and green mango kerabu with honey lime dressing and octopus.
Side dishes included potato dauphinois, steamed broccolini, fried rice and Asian vegetables.
Dessert included dark chocolate tartlet and Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream.
According to Newsweek, a U.N. report stating that “18 million people across DPRK [North Korea] continue to suffer from food insecurity and undernutrition” and 41 percent of the population in North Korea is “undernourished.”
