It was nearly three years ago when Donald Trump was asked whether North Korea’s Kim Jong Un might someday visit the White House. The Republican said it “could happen,” before adding some related praise for the dictator.
“Hey, he’s the head of a country, and I mean he’s the strong head,” the then-American president said in June 2018. “Don’t let anyone think any different. [Kim] speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.”
As we discussed at the time, in context, “my people” appeared to refer to White House staff, not Americans in general, though that was hardly reassuring.
What Trump neglected to mention is that Kim’s “people” sit up at attention when he speaks because they realize that failure to do so may lead to violent consequences.
As it turns out, the former president is still thinking about this. The Washington Post reported on comments Trump made at a Republican fundraiser over the weekend.
He espoused praise for North Korea’s brutal leader, marveling at how Kim’s generals and aides “cowered” when the dictator spoke to them. “Total control,” Trump said of how Kim ran the country, describing generals snapping to attention and standing up on command. “His people were sitting at attention,” he added. “I looked at my people and said I want my people to act like that,” he said to laughter.
In 2018, after his comments caused a stir, Trump suggested his rhetoric wasn’t sincere, telling reporters they “don’t understand sarcasm.” After watching the video, there was reason to wonder whether the Republican understood what “sarcasm” means. But three years later, the fact that the former is still talking about how impressed he is at how Kim is treated, marveling at the dictator’s “total control,” is striking. The broader pattern of concern remains the same: Trump has repeatedly expressed public admiration for dictators, not despite their authoritarian practices, but because of them. Related:
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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