Fox Business host hails Dennis Rodman for North Korea outreach: “You saw something different” about Kim Jong-un
Rodman on Kim: “He's actually trying to change and people don't know that”
Published
Citation From the September 18 edition of Fox Business' Varney & Co.
DAVID ASMAN (ANCHOR, GUEST HOST): We're back with Dennis Rodman, NBA legend. I've got to ask you, Dennis, about your relationship with Kim Jong-un.
DENNIS RODMAN: Oh, come on.
ASMAN: I know you say, "Come on."
RODMAN: You've got to — you have to, right?
ASMAN: You broke down the barrier before anybody else did. And you got a lot of flack for it at the time. People said, "What is he doing? Kim Jong-un is never going to change, you're just giving attention to an evil dictator." How do you think — what was your feeling when you saw the president of the United States shaking hands, the way you did, with Kim Jong-un? What was your feeling?
RODMAN: That was nicely put. You know, last interview like this, the guy pretty much attacked me. That was nicely put. Thank you for that.
David: Well, you were there. You were the pioneer.
RODMAN: I was there. I think the fact that when Donald Trump went to Singapore — went to Singapore, yeah? And I was there, and I looked, I was watching on a rooftop, and I just couldn't believe the fact that he said something that was profound. He said, "I can tell if I like this guy in 30 seconds." That was when he got out the car, when he walked in. And it took him five-and-a-half hours to tell the world that "I can work with this guy, I like this guy." Donald Trump is saying this. I have been telling the world, this guy's not a bad guy, he just inherited this country, and he's just trying to, you know — he's actually trying to change and people don't know that, but I guess it's —
ASMAN: But the bottom line is, he saw something, an opportunity in dealing with Kim Jong-un that no president before him saw. I mean, it wasn't all Kim Jong-un. It was his father and his grandfather, but they were basically cut from the same cloth. But you saw something different about him. What did you see about him that led you to open your own relationship with him?
RODMAN: Well, I think the fact that he's really open — he's really open for suggestion as far as coming to America. He really wants to come to America. But I think that because of his history and his culture and his family, I think that's what's stopping him from coming here -- to have a relationship with Americans.
ASMAN: The president kind of lures him on, says look, this is a guy who doesn't want his country to look dark when -- at nighttime. When you look at a satellite photo of the Koreas, you see all the lights on in South Korea during the night, it's all black in North Korea. There's nothing going on there at all. He wants to turn that around. And that's what Donald Trump says is the opportunity here, agree?
RODMAN: It is. I think it is an opportunity. I think that one day, and I've said it for like seven years, one day the doors are going to open with North Korea and America. I still believe that. I think one day, Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump, if he's still president, I think it's going to happen the next 18 to 24 months, you will see Kim Jong-un in Washington, D.C.
ASMAN: Wow. What do you think about Donald Trump being re-elected? Do you think he should be?
RODMAN: Do we have a choice? Do we have a choice? I know it's a lot of candidates out there right now but I just think that people looking at the business, the money factor, the way he's changed it in a 180 degree and I like Donald as a friend. I love him as a friend. I see him on the golf course. He's out there "Hey Dennis, Can I help you?" I'm like "Yes, Donald, you can help me. You can help me Donald. OK, great, thank you." Yea, so it's cool. But like I said, I like Donald as a friend. His family's been very, very good to me. Hey, Donald, please, can I say one thing, man? Can I go back to North Korea and try to finish my work? Can I finish my work, you know? So, give me a call.
ASMAN: We may get a tweet before this program is out. You never know. You never know.