Trump Again Praises Kim; Chillingly Jokes About Executions

Yesterday, I argued that Donald Trump's effusive praise of Kim Jon Un was the biggest news of the day, even bigger than the IG report. I stand by it — and I'll reiterate it: His trajectory into full-tilt despot is enormously important.

It is, in fact, the context in which every other news story should and must be discussed.

Because this is where we are: In another interview this morning with Fox News' Steve Doocy, Trump again spoke of Kim admiringly and aspirationally: "Hey, he's the head of a country, and I mean he is the strong head — don't let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same."

The interview then continued with Trump joking about how Kim may have executed his own generals, further defending having saluted a North Korean general, and insisting that "it's great to give [Kim] credibility" on the global stage.

Trump dismisses controversy surrounding his salute to a North Korean general.

"I'm being respectful to the general. We have a very good relationship with North Korea... we have a really great relationship... I think it's great to give [Kim Jong Un] credibility." pic.twitter.com/yfCZDC0Z1K

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 15, 2018

Trump: He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.

Doocy: Right. Well, just before you met with him, he cleaned house. Three of his top generals, some of the hardliners, he fired—

Trump: Yeah, that's what I heard.

Doocy: —then you go over there and you took some heat over saluting one of the generals.

Trump: I think he fired at least. [smirks] Okay?

Doocy: Three that we know of.

Trump: When you say he "fired," I think maybe fired at least.

Doocy: [chuckling nervously as it dawns on him what Trump is saying] Right.

Trump: "Fired" may be a nice word. That's right — I met a general; he saluted me; I saluted him back; and I guess they're using that as another sound bite. I mean, you know, I think I'm being respectful to general. We are — we have a very good relationship with North Korea. When I was talking to President Obama, he essentially was ready to go to war with North Korea. He felt you almost had to go to war. And I did ask him: "Have you spoken to him?" He goes, "No." I said, "Do you think it would be a good thing to speak to him, maybe?" Okay? 'Cuz, you know, if you go to war there, you're not talking about a hundred thousand lives, which is a lot. You're talking about thirty, forty, fifty million lives.

Doocy: Sure.

Trump: Seoul is thirty miles off the border. They don't even need nuclear weapons to Seoul. And they have thousands of cannons — they call them cannons; they have the big [gestures at own chest?] guns — thousands pointed right at Seoul. We have a really great relationship for the first time ever. No president's ever had this. So I get hit by these fakes back here [gestures over his shoulder at members of the press] — not all of them; some are phenomenal — but I get hit, because I went there; I gave him credibility. I think it's great to give him credibility.

Doocy: Right.

Trump: Here's what we got: Everything. [mimes running down a list of items] Point after point after point.

Doocy: One point — I think it was in the last week, ten days; things are going fast here in Washington, just saying — but...

Trump: You're having a lot of fun, right?

Doocy: [laughing] We're having a—

Trump: So supposing Hillary got elected instead of Trump. You think it would be so exciting? Your ratings would be way down.

This is the news. This is the news today and every day, all day. Trump is an authoritarian who hates democracy and is overseeing a comprehensively obscene agenda of nativism, white supremacy, misogyny, queer hatred, and disablism that has already reached the point of making plans to detain children in concentration camps.

THIS IS THE NEWS.

And guess what? That has always been the news about Trump.