President Trump reportedly remarked during his trip to Singapore to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un about how a news anchor on state-run television talked so positively about Kim.
The Washington Post reported the anecdote late Thursday, citing two people familiar with the president’s remarks.
Trump joked after watching North Korean state-run television that not even Fox News praises him as much as the female anchor in North Korea praised Kim, a source told the Post.
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The president also said the North Korean anchor should maybe get a job in U.S. media, the newspaper reported.
Trump, who has prided himself on having an often combative relationship with news media, took a jab at the American press on Tuesday while meeting with Kim in Singapore.
“The press, they never stop,” Trump told Kim, as reporters yelled out questions to the two leaders.
The president took a softer tone during an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity that aired Tuesday night, saying some mainstream outlets had been “very good” to him while covering his summit with Kim.
“You know, it was sort of interesting because I noticed some of the press … And I’m not even knocking them, because honestly they’ve been treating me very good on this subject. What’s to treat badly? But some of the press would say, ‘he’s meeting with them, therefore he had a major loss.’ I said, ‘since when?’ ” Trump said.
Other remarks from Trump surrounding his historic meeting with the North Korean leader drew attention this week.
The Post reported Thursday that Trump remarked during other portions of his trip about how Kim’s guards seemed “tough” and refused to shake hands.
One person who spoke to the newspaper even recalled Trump talking about how the guards could likely take on White House chief of staff John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general.
During another interaction on the trip, Trump was seen saluting a North Korean general, video that prompted debate in the U.S. after it was released by a North Korean TV network.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday defended Trump’s salute, calling it “common courtesy.”