On Saturday, CNN military and diplomatic analyst Rear Admiral John Kirby appeared on Unfiltered.

S.E. Cupp‘s show just debuted on CNN’s lineup after making the move from HLN.

At one point, talk turned to President Donald Trump‘s tweet to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

“Warmest regards?” host Cupp started off the discussion. “That’s how you say goodbye to a pen pal, not a brutal dictator but that’s precisely what President Trump said to Chairman Kim Jong Un when he abruptly announced on Friday that he was canceling Secretary of State Mike Pompeo‘s planned trip to North Korea.”

She then read Trump’s tweet.

…Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

“Yes, and please thank Mrs. Kim for the delicious cookies she baked,” Cupp quipped.

Finally, turning to Kirby, she asked, “What do you make of warmest regards?”

“I think it’s his sort of sophomoric way of making sure that he can keep the lines of communication open, that he still wants to move the negotiations forward, and I think he thinks that Kim is wowed by that kind of flattery,” Kirby said.

He then said this: “I also think — a little bit of this is him giving himself a hug. He clearly doesn’t like the fact that this isn’t going so well, I think he was caught off-guard at how hard it is to negotiate with these guys and this is a way of him sort of telling himself and his supporters, hey, this still matters, I haven’t failed.”

Watch above, via CNN

[image via screengrab]

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