In an effort to support Donald Trump’s desperation to meet with Kim Jong-Un, Fox News host (and informal Trump adviser) Pete Hegseth excused the North Korean leader’s appetite for executions by saying, he “probably doesn't love being the guy that has to murder his people all day long.”
Media Matters caught Hegseth’s shocking comments this morning on Fox & Friends:
HEGSETH: [T]he sanctions are having massive effect there, there's no doubt. The Chinese have put the screws to him on that. The Chinese are still playing a double game - absolutely. And then I think there’s probably a point at which the guy who wants to meet with Dennis Rodman and loves NBA basketball and loves western pop culture, probably doesn't love being the guy that has to murder his people all day long. Probably wants some normalization. And let's give it to him if we can make the world safer.
Hegseth clearly intended his comments to help spin Trump’s desperation to get the North Korea summit back on track after newly-minted national security adviser John Bolton screwed it up.
But what “traditional family values” Hegseth also inadvertently revealed is that he has no problem with a dictator murdering his own citizens so long as it’s done with reluctance. Given that Trump has expressed a willingness, if not enthusiasm, to see his own people executed, too, Hegseth’s rhetoric is even more disturbing.
Watch Hegseth below and just imagine if President Barack Obama had ever shown such eagerness to meet with Kim or even hinted at condoning his behavior. It’s from the May 23, 2018 Fox & Friends, via Media Matters.
- The Politico thinks that the current south korean leader should receive the Nobel Peace prize.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/05/22/moon-trump-kim-jong-un-korea-218413
In repeating that nonsense, they are implicitly saying “Yes, Trump plotted with Russians to steal the election, but nyah nyah nyah, we don’t care.”
