Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) offered rare praise to President Trump on Thursday after Trump walked away from negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“President Trump did the right thing by walking away and not cutting a poor deal for the sake of a photo op,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on Wednesday.
{mosads}”Just like the president, I want a deal with North Korea that would bring an end to the conflict and change the course of the region,” he added.
Schumer urged Trump to be equally willing to walk away from trade negotiations with China if the U.S. cannot secure a favorable agreement.
“President Trump must have the courage to do the same thing with China as he’s done for North Korea,” Schumer said. “The president must be willing to hold the line and walk away if China does not agree to meaningful, enduring, structural reform of its unfair trading policy.”
Trump’s negotiations in Vietnam with Kim on Thursday ended unexpectedly and without an agreement as the Trump administration sought to move forward with North Korean denuclearization.
“Sometimes you have to walk, and this was just one of those times,” Trump told reporters as the summit was ending.