Warmth, walk-and-talks, and no deal late-night hosts analyze Donald Trump and Kim Jong-uns rollercoaster relationship
Trevor Noah
Barack Obama once told Donald Trump, before he took office, that North Korea's nuclear program would be his greatest challenge as president.” Well, that and learning to read ,” joked Trevor Noah on the Daily Show, as Trump's summit with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, collapsed– lunch places still defined- with no deal in place.
” Wow, you know something must have gone wrong when these two turn down lunch ,” Noah observed.
The breakdown in talks is a far cry from how Trump described his relationship with the dictator on the campaign trail; in a speech from September of last year, Trump said that he and Kim got along well, wrote letters and had fallen in love.
That voices weird, but it attains sense- Kim is” altogether Donald Trump's kind. All of Trump's best relationships are with people who are half his age and don't speak English ,” Noah said over a picture of Melania.
Noah then turned to the rollercoaster that is Trump and Kim's relationship, as volatile as a teenage love affair. What changed at the summit? Basically,” Kim wanted Trump to give everything up, but before he did, Trump wanted guarantees in exchange. Classic relationship dilemma ,” said Noah.
As in many on-and-off relationship sagas, Trump seems determined to work things out despite the distance. In a post-negotiations press conference, he told reporters that he” want[ s] to keep the relationship” with Kim because of a” warmth that we have “.
In other terms, classic relationship pining that is” so tough to watch, man “, Noah said.” Because we've all been there … You told your friends this was going to work out, and despite the warnings you still carried on. And now you're trying to save face because you think we're evaluate you, which we totally are .”
Judgments aside, Noah saw a way out of this cycle: take a cue from numerous romcoms on unrequited love and cut your loss.” Instead of dragging this out, Donald, I think it's time to accept that maybe, only perhaps, Kim is just not that into you .”
Jimmy Kimmel
” Trump literally got more done in his summit with Kim Kardashian than in his summit with Kim Jong-un ,” Jimmy Kimmel acknowledged in Los Angeles.
But while Trump returned to the US from Vietnam” tiny empty-handed “, Kimmel joked, he did have some residual praise for North Korea's dictator. In a press conference with western reporters, Trump referred to Kim as” quite a guy, quite a character “.
” What a character- he poisoned two brothers and put his uncle in front of a firing squad. What a hoot !” Kimmel deadpanned.
The deal-less Trump is clearly” doing everything he can to present this as a positive development “, Kimmel continued, such as characterizing his relationship with Kim as one of genial walk-and-talks.
” Warmth and walking- they actually remind me of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper ,” Kimmel said.” There's a real warmth to their relationship .”
Kimmel recapped the week's nuclear developments: despite the reputation that” nobody makes a bigger deal about inducing big deals than Donald Trump”, the president flew all the way to Vietnam” and got nothing, like a Fyre Festival “.
Actually, he got one thing: a letter of support from the former basketball superstar Dennis Rodman on behalf of North Korean goodwill ambassadors.
” This is all so nuts ,” Kimmel marveled.” Imagine waking up from a coma like 15 years ago and hearing[ that] Dennis K Rodman is helping President Trump campaign for a Nobel prize for his summit with the heads of state of North Korea .”
” I'd likely have to be put back to sleep .”
Seth Meyers
Between the Michael Cohen testimony and Trump's summit with Kim in Vietnam, this week” has truly been one of the most eventful weeks of the Trump presidency and every week of the Trump presidency is eventful “, Seth Meyers said on Late Night.
Though the nuclear talks with North Korea from time to time seemed farcical, Meyers recollected the stakes.” Let's be clear: everyone should want a peaceful diplomatic answer. And after a summit like this, you'd at the least want a coherent explanation of where matters stand .”
Meyers then turned to Trump's praise of Kim as” quite a guy, quite a character “.
” Quite a character ?” he exclaimed.” He's one of the most brutal dictators in the world and you're talking about him like he's Dwight from The Office .”
Meanwhile, the fallout from the Cohen hearing this week continues to trickle through Congress. Will people named in Cohen's testimony come before Congress? Will the public get to hear Cohen's personal tapes, which Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani accidentally confirmed the existence of in an interview with the New Yorker?
Speaking of Giuliani,” You know who I'd love to see testify in front of Congress ?” Meyers proposed.” Rudy. He crumbles under no pressure … He always looks like he merely sat on a park bench and it turned out to be a ski lift .”
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