In the middle of a tense briefing about Iran, President Trump did what he tends to do best, he pivoted, went off script, and reminded everyone that foreign policy is not always about stiff talking points and scripted lines. Sometimes it is about relationships, personalities, and yes, even blunt honesty that makes Washington insiders uncomfortable.
While discussing rising tensions with Iran and the strategic importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, President Trump took a detour into his past dealings with Kim Jong Un. And in classic Trump fashion, the detour was anything but boring.
Trump told reporters that Kim had once used extremely harsh language when referring to Joe Biden, saying, “He used to call Joe Biden a mentally retarded person. Okay? So…” Not exactly the kind of quote you hear in a polished State Department memo, but that is kind of the point. Trump followed it up by emphasizing how differently Kim treated him, noting that the North Korean leader had been “very nice” when speaking about Trump.
Now, critics will clutch their pearls over the language. That is predictable. But what gets lost in the outrage cycle is the broader argument Trump was making, which is that personal diplomacy actually matters. He is not wrong about that, no matter how much it irritates the foreign policy establishment.
Think back to 2017. The U.S. and North Korea were trading threats, missile tests were ramping up, and the media was practically running countdown clocks to World War III. Then came 2018, and suddenly Trump was sitting down face-to-face with Kim in Singapore. That was not supposed to happen, at least according to the so-called experts.
The meetings did not produce a perfect deal, and nobody serious claims they did. The 2019 summit in Vietnam fell apart over disagreements on sanctions and denuclearization steps. Still, the temperature dropped. Missiles stopped flying over Japan. The rhetoric cooled. That is not nothing.
Trump’s point on Monday was simple, even if delivered in his usual unscripted style. When adversaries respect you, or at least believe you are unpredictable enough to take seriously, it changes the dynamic. He clearly believes his relationship with Kim gave the U.S. leverage, or at minimum, breathing room.
Meanwhile, the Iran situation is heating up, and the stakes are far higher. Keeping global oil routes open is not optional. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most critical chokepoints in the world, and any disruption there sends shockwaves through the global economy.
Interestingly, reports suggest North Korea is staying quiet during this Iran standoff. That alone tells you something. Pyongyang is not rushing to pick sides, and that could be a sign they are keeping the door open with Washington.
So while the media will zero in on the headline-grabbing quote about Biden, the bigger takeaway is sitting right there in plain sight. Trump is doubling down on the idea that diplomacy is not just about policy papers, it is about who is sitting across the table, how they see you, and whether they think you are someone worth dealing with seriously.
Washington may not like that approach, but it has a track record of getting results, or at the very least, preventing things from spiraling completely out of control.
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