Donald Trump, seemingly out-trumping himself, sought to send the supreme leader of North Korea a copy of Elton John’s music. (Chip Somodevilla/Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for EJAF)
Donald Trump, you know, the leader of the free world, is apparently obsessed with sending Kim Jong-un, you know, the leader of North Korea, a copy of “Rocket Man” by Elton John.
Yes, really.
It’s one of the many explosive revelations tucked away in former US national security adviser John Bolton’s book, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, the New Yorker reported
Donald Trump wanted to hand Kim Jong-un a copy of ‘Rocket Man’ as a peace offering.
The US president, no doubt eager to cement the always frail relations between his nation and North Korea while also brazenly remaining the leader of his bullish sense of humour, wanted to sent Jong-un a CD version of the song.
Although, questions immediately arise. “Rocket Man” was not a single, but rather a song on John’s LP, Honky Chateau. Did Trump burn the song onto a blank CD? We may never know.
As the two powerhouses exchanged barbed threats against one another about North Korea’s nuclear programme, the president, according to Bolton, would often insult Jong-un by calling him “little rocket man”.
As not-so-veiled jab at the leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s height, with reports suggesting he is five-foot-four.
John Bolton: ‘Getting this CD to Kim remained a high priority for several months.’
With tensions bristling in 2018, Trump wished to send Jong-un a copy of “Rocket Man” by having none other than his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, deliver it.
At a summit on denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula held in Singapore in June that year, Trump told Pompeo to gift Jong-un the CD during an upcoming trip to North Korea in October.
It was, in the eyes of Trump, a peace offering – hoping to show Jong-un that the nickname is affectionate and not an insult.
Weird flex, but OK.
“Trump didn’t seem to realise Pompeo hadn’t actually seen Kim Jong-un [during the trip], asking if Pompeo had handed [the CD],” Bolton wrote.
“Pompeo had not. Getting this CD to Kim remained a high priority for several months.”
Ultimately, the disk ever entered Jong-un’s hands, considering that as much as Trump wished to harmonise ties with North Korea, Pompeo’s efforts were blocked by him simply not sitting next to Jong-un during his stay.
Nevertheless, “getting this CD to Kim remained a high priority for several months,” Bolton penned.
The summit was, to Trump, more an “exercise in publicity” above everything and he cared little about, er, the actual denuclearisation efforts.
“Trump told me he was prepared to sign a substance-free communique, have his press conference to declare victory and then get out of town,” Bolton penned.