U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the uncertainty of President Trump’s tweets keeps things “interesting” and that she never knows what Trump will tweet as she starts out her day.
“It makes it interesting,” Haley told David Axelrod, an ex-senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, Thursday night at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics. “It makes it interesting that when I wake up, I don’t know what he’s going to tweet.”
Providing an example, Haley said she had no prior knowledge that last year Trump would call North Korean leader Kim Jon Un “Little Rocket Man.”
“I didn’t know it was coming — I saw it on Twitter, but he had to give the U.N a big speech at the general assembly,” Haley said, referring to his speech before the General Assembly in September. “He called me about that and I said, ‘OK now, Mr. President, you need to understand, this is a serious crowd. They’re not going to rally, they’re not going to cheer, that’s just not who these people are, so don’t take that the wrong way. Just pretend that it’s church, you’re speaking in church.’”
Nikki Haley says Pres. Trump asked for her opinion on “saying ‘Little Rocket Man'” in UN General Assembly speech. “I said, ‘Well, it’s kind of a formal crowd.'” https://t.co/c8WxE0jVsk pic.twitter.com/UIgIrXC7zk
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 23, 2018
But, Haley said Trump pushed back and wanted to use it in his speech.
“So then he said, ‘Well, I’ve got to ask you, what do you think about me saying ‘Little Rocket Man’ in the speech?’ I said, ‘It’s kind of a formal crowd. … It would be different!’” Haley said.
“He said, ‘I think it’s catchy!’” Haley added.
“After the speech, other heads of state were calling [Kim Jong Un] ‘Little Rocket Man.’ … So it works,” she added.
During the discussion Thursday evening, Haley also revealed that White House senior adviser Jared Kushner was “finishing up” a Middle East peace proposal, which has been put on the back burner since the U.S. announced that it recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that the administration would move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“They’re coming up with a plan,” Haley said. “It won’t be loved by either side, and it won’t be hated by either side.”
