Trump battered by James Clapper for getting played by North Korea: 'Kim Jong-Un is in the driver's seat'

Former DNI head James Clapper called out President Donald Trump on CNN for being used by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, saying negotiations with the isolated country are being dominated by the young dictator.

Appearing on New Day with host John Berman, Clapper said that Kim Jong-Un is "in the driver's seat" when it comes to dealing with Trump.

"CNN has learned, that the U.S. is scouting out locations for a second summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-Un," Berman began. "President Trump has been waving around to senators and other officials a letter he received from Kim Jong-Un. Who is writing this script right now?"

"Well, I don't know," Clapper replied. "What I do think is Kim Jong-Un is in the driver's seat here. He's figured out how to appeal to Trump, mainly through his ego, writing him an occasional love letter and agreeing to photo ops."

"In the meantime, every day that goes by, North Korea is a nuclear power. -- that's what they want to be recognized with," he continued. "That has to do with the tempered behavior as of late -- that's a good thing. They haven't fired off any missiles, they're getting along with the south, so that's all good. In the meantime, we made zero progress on denuclearization."

"Do you think a second summit would serve any purpose?" Berman pressed.

"Probably not, other than it will, I think, reinforce in the president's mind that he and Kim Jong-Un are getting along great, which makes it hard to be very strict and coercive with the North Koreans, " he answered.

You can watch the video below via CNN:

CNN_01-04-2019_0clapper from Tom Boggioni on Vimeo.