Rep. Sean Duffy said Monday that President Trump’s more aggressive stance toward North Korea is a solid foreign policy strategy because softer diplomacy under President Obama didn’t work over the last eight years.
Republican @RepSeanDuffy: "Trump is unpredictable… that's a good thing when trying to… negotiate a deal" https://t.co/5bVC0kIbr0— New Day (@NewDay) April 17, 2017
Duffy said on CNN that Trump is right to put more pressure on China to deal with Kim Jong Un’s regime, and to make it clear to the despot that there will be consequences for aggressive actions. Obama’s strategy with the country only emboldened Kim, Duffy said.
“It’s appropriate that the Trump administration take a second look at past strategy to see what hasn’t worked and to try and push the envelope,” Duffy said.
Rumors swirled around the White House last week that Trump could use a pre-emptive strike to stop North Korea from testing a new nuclear weapon. That never came to pass, and North Korea attempted to test a new mid-range ballistic missile on Sunday, but it failed after a few seconds.
The administration reiterated that the plan is to push China to twist the screws on North Korea economically, and Duffy said the U.S. should be using every tool available to pressure North Korea.
“This is an all-of-the-above strategy,” he said. “We will try all the tools we have at our disposal to make sure we disassemble North Korea to ensure they are not a threat to the United States of America.”
He added that Trump’s nature is an inherent good when it comes to dealing with foreign adversaries.
“Trump is not predictable and that’s a good thing when you’re trying to navigate and negotiate a deal,” he said.
