Despite Donald Trump’s claims that Kim Jong Un would denuclearize, his own Defense Intelligence Agency reportedly believes that North Korea has no intention of ending its nuclear program.

Still, days after U.S. intelligence officials said North Korea has actually increased its production at secret nuclear facilities, Trump tried to take credit on Tuesday for single-handedly preventing war with the country. “If not for me,” he tweeted, “we would now be at War [sic] with North Korea!”

Many good conversations with North Korea-it is going well! In the meantime, no Rocket Launches or Nuclear Testing in 8 months. All of Asia is thrilled. Only the Opposition Party, which includes the Fake News, is complaining. If not for me, we would now be at War with North Korea! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2018

Let’s review.

After promising as a candidate that he would be happy to talk to the North Korean dictator and would “absolutely” try to talk some sense into Kim Jong-un, President Trump began his outreach to him with a series of insulting tweets.

“Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?” Trump asked in one.

North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Hard to believe that South Korea….. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2017

….and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2017

In August 2017, Trump promised “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if North Korea continued to threaten the USA. He later expressed that “If anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough.”


Soon after, he began mocking Kim Jong Un as “Rocket Man,” both on Twitter and even in a speech before the United Nations.

I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2017

Trump later belittled him as “short and fat.”

Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2017

In January, he got into a size argument about who had a bigger nuclear button.

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018

Then, in an about face, Trump dialed back the rhetoric and agreed to meet face to face. At their Singapore summit last month, Trump saluted a North Korean general, agreed to end U.S. military drills with South Korea, and emerged with a vague agreement that North Korea would work toward “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” He then told Fox News that his North Korean counterpart is “strong,” “funny,” “smart” and a “great negotiator.”

Less than a month later, it seems that North Korea’s Kim may have been the only “great negotiator” at their meeting and that it is “going well” only for the North Korean regime.


Trump’s claim that he averted a war that only he was threatening to start to begin with is just the latest example of him claiming credit for undoing his own action.