House Speaker Paul Ryan praised President Trump for meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissing criticism of the president for praising the dictator.
“The president needed to disrupt the status quo and the president has disrupted the status quo,” Ryan, R-Wis., said. “He should be applauded for doing that. I’m encouraged by the negotiations that are now taking place between Secretary Pompeo and the North Koreans.”
At their summit in Singapore on Tuesday, Trump and Kim Jong Un signed an agreement that is vague, but calls for a movement toward denuclearizing North Korea. Trump also praised the dictator as “smart,” a “great negotiator,” and someone who cares about the people in his country, where thousands of people languish in prisons.
Ryan didn’t directly address those comments and said “we should be under no delusion” that North Korea will move immediately, or ever, to complete denuclearization.
“I’m pleased the president has gotten us to the position we are in,” Ryan said. “Time will tell how this ends.”
