Fox's Shep Smith skewers Trump for taking credit for avoiding war with North Korea: 'Who does he think he's kidding?'

Fox News' Shep Smith on Tuesday skewered Donald Trump for insisting that he is the reason the US has avoided North Korea as the country expands its nuclear capabilities.

"What the world wants is for North Korea to abandon its nuclear program," the host said. "What North Korea appears to be doing is expanding its nuclear program — yet President Trump says talks with the hermit kingdom are going well."

In a tweet on Tuesday morning, the president lauded his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and took credit for avoiding a nuclear conflict.

"If not for me, we would now be at War with North Korea!" he wrote.

Smith played a clip of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders claiming the Trump administration is continuing to push for "denuclearization" in North Korea — but as Smith noted, the country is doing the opposite in spite of its newly-positive relationship to the United States.

"Goals are great. Reality is awful," the host said after introducing former CIA analyst and current counter-extremism expert Tara Maller. "How are we any better now than before all of this mess happened?"

"I was here with you after the [Kim-Trump] summit occurred," Maller noted. "We talked about how problematic it was that a) we didn't have a transcript of what transpired and b) there wasn't anything tangible and concrete that came out of that discussion."

"Diplomacy is good. It's a necessary part of this," she continued. "It's not sufficient. We're not any closer to getting towards denuclearization and we won't be closer until we have a specific timetable with specific guarantees about concessions that the North Koreans are going to demonstrate."

"As we all know, actions speak louder than words," Maller noted. "All we've seen up till now are a lot of words from both leaders. From the Trump Administration side, a lot of positive words and I'd argue setting the bar too high. They should be lowering expectations. This is going to be a long process and it's going to be phased and if we succeed, it's going to take a long time."

An incredulous Smith said he doesn't "understand who they think they're kidding here."

"First, we had maximum sanctions and the world together said 'no, north Korea,'" the host said. "Then we got together, said some words. Now the expansion continues. Things are worse. The threats of sanctions went away."

Watch below, via CNN: