Jimmy Kimmel has added his voice to criticism of President Donald Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with the comedian suggesting the president achieved nothing at the meeting in Vietnam.
The two-day conference took place in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi this week, but ended early on Thursday as the American and North Korean leaders were unable to reach a deal on sanctions relief or denuclearization.
Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday night, the host joked that despite Trump and Kim's smiles for the cameras, the summit was a failure.
Playing clips of the two leaders in Hanoi, Kimmel said that the meeting "seemed to be going smoothly for Trump and Kim, look how much chemistry they have." Listing the items on the luxurious menus drawn up for the meeting, he said, "I'm starting to think maybe these guys just went over there to eat."
But the abrupt end to the summit meant that there was to be no grand announcement of a new deal by the president, one that would have been welcome given the increasing scrutiny of his administration at home following bombshell testimony from his former attorney Michael Cohen.
"There's no agreement, Kim will not give up his nuclear program, Trump comes home tiny empty-handed," Kimmel said. "Trump literally got more done in his summit with Kim Kardashian than Kim Jong Un."
In his press conference announcing the end of the negotiations, Trump admitted that the two sides were still too far apart to have agreed a deal. "Sometimes you have to walk," the president told reporters.
Playing a clip of the statement—which he described as Trump "doing his best to give this fruitless journey a positive spin"—Kimmel said, "That's right. Sometimes you have to walk. And that's pretty much all they did, is walk. Look at them," he added, playing footage of the two leaders walking by a swimming pool in Hanoi.
Referring to Trump's multiple deferments from military service on medical grounds during the Vietnam War, Kimmel added, "You know, there was a time when Donald Trump wasn't even able to walk in Vietnam because of his terrible bone spurs, but thank god those healed up."
In his Hanoi press conference, Trump explained, "We had a really productive time," but all sides agreed "it wasn't a good thing to sign anything." Asked whether he thought it was premature to hold a second summit given the lack of progress on denuclearization, he said, "I could've signed something today… But it's better to do it right than do it fast."
Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said they were unable to make a deal as Kim had asked for all U.S. sanctions to be lifted in exchange for closing North Korea's main nuclear research site—the Yongbyon facility.
However, in a rare late-night press conference Thursday, North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho contradicted the U.S. report, and said Pyongyang had only requested partial sanctions relief in exchange for action on Yongbyon.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
David Brennan is Newsweek's Diplomatic Correspondent covering world politics and conflicts from London with a focus on NATO, the European ... Read more
