CNN anchor says Trump would go down ‘as a great president’ if he solves North Korea problem

CNN’s Erin Burnett said Thursday that if President Trump can solve the U.S. problem with North Korea, he “would be going down as a great president.”

The commentary from the “Outfront” host followed the White House announcement that Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would meet “by May” in an effort to negotiate the denuclearization of North Korea.

“Just an extraordinarily evening and of course opening the door to the big question, if President Trump can truly solve this problem, that would be going down as a great president. And there’s no way around that. That is the reality here,” Burnett said at the end of her show.

{mosads}Earlier in the show, a former adviser on the National Security Council under President Obama said there’s “no way” Trump is ready for a direct meeting with Kim by May, as announced by South Korea’s national security adviser on Thursday.

“There is no way that President Trump can be ready, by May, to have a high stakes negotiation on denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. It’s just impossible,” said Samantha Vinograd, who also serves as a CNN national security analyst. 

Trump expressed optimism around the meeting on Twitter Thursday night, stating that “great progress [is] being made” while cautioning that “sanctions will remain” against North Korea “until an agreement is reached.” 

“Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze,” Trump wrote to his 48.4 million followers. “Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!”

Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2018

If Trump meets with Kim, he would become the first U.S. president to ever meet with a North Korean leader while in office.