Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un had a supposedly intimate "male friendship".
A proposal that Trump is said to have made to the North Korean dictator in February 2019 has now leaked through.
Hanoi - Donald Trump made a number of dubious "friendships" with international rulers during his tenure as US President.
These include, above all, the supposedly friendly relationship with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, about whom Donald Trump had raved about in public.
Now a particularly curious episode of this "male friendship" has come to the public: As reported by the British BBC and the US broadcaster CNN, Donald Trump is said to have offered Kim Jong-un to join him after the nuclear summit in Hanoi, Vietnam in February 2019 of Air Force One to fly home.
This has been confirmed by several people involved.
Summit in Hanoi: Trump wanted to fly Kim Jong-un home with Air Force One
The meeting between those in power in February 2019 had actually been planned by ex-President Donald Trump as a foreign policy success.
He wanted to use this opportunity to get the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to make concessions with regard to the North Korean nuclear program.
However, the summit developed in a completely different direction.
Kim Jong-un demanded that all US sanctions be lifted in Hanoi, which Trump refused.
Accordingly, the summit ended prematurely and without result.
Nevertheless, Trump apparently felt so much sympathy for the North Korean dictator that he made him the unusual travel offer.
Matthew Pottinger, who was part of Trump's National Security Council as an Asia expert, told the BBC about the situation: “The President knew that Kim had traveled to Hanoi by train for several days and said, 'I can see you in two hours Bring home if you want '”.
Then Kim Jong-un is said to have rejected the offer.
Trump's offer: he made it “just for his friend”
The American broadcaster CNN again refers in its reporting to a senior administrative officer who is said to have been there in Hanoi.
This is not mentioned by name.
According to information from CNN, Trump had not previously consulted his staff on this proposal.
He didn't seem to have given any thought to whether the offer was problematic.
The eyewitness reports that Trump "made it easy for his friend".
The flight home: a security and diplomatic disaster
This offer is problematic for many reasons.
If the North Korean dictator had actually accepted the offer, there would not only have been security problems, but also diplomatic crises.
Trump has been sharply criticized internationally for his close association with the North Korean dictator.
After all, Kim Jong-un is accused of serious human rights violations, among other things.
Although Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un portrayed their apparently friendly relationship as a historic turning point in the US-North Korea relationship, several meetings between the rulers have produced little concrete results.
In this context, Trump was mainly accused of allowing himself to be manipulated by the North Korean dictator.
This criticism can be assessed in different ways, but one thing is certain: North Korea's nuclear program has reportedly grown.
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