A conservative Washington Post columnist derided President Donald Trump for siding with North Korea's Kim Jong-un on the death of American Otto Warmbier — while noting that it's far from surprising that he did so.
"It was evident to anyone keeping an eye on American politics (and the North Koreans study this intently) that Trump was desperate for something to call a win, something to divert attention from domestic debacles," columnist Jennifer Rubin wrote Thursday. "Kim didn’t need to give an inch, and Trump wound up with another diplomatic belly-flop."
In a moment akin to his defense of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid the controversy surrounding the murder inside a consulate of Post correspondent Jamal Khashoggi, Trump defended Kim, claiming he "didn't know" about the alleged mistreatment of the 22-year-old who died after spending months in a North Korean prison.
The American president playing "PR man" for the "murderous" Kim was much "more egregious than Trump’s diplomatic malpractice," the columnist wrote.
"No one aside from Trump could believe that a totalitarian dictator and human rights monster such as Kim would be so clueless," Rubin mused. "In fact, just a year ago, Trump didn’t buy it either."
The writer noted that during his 2018 State of the Union address, Trump decried Warmbier's treatment while taking pot shots at Kim.
"After a shameful trial, the dictatorship sentenced Otto to 15 years of hard labor, before returning him to America last June — horribly injured and on the verge of death. He passed away just days after his return," the president said. "Tonight, we pledge to honor Otto’s memory with American resolve."
"That didn't last long," Rubin wrote.
Read the entire column via the Post.