Dennis Rodman: I Hope Kim Jong Un Wears a make America Great Again Hat After Meeting Trump

Dennis Rodman arriving at Changi Airport in Singapore on Tuesday.

Credit... Wong Maye-East/Associated Printing

The former Due north.B.A. star Dennis Rodman has ever had an ability to grab the spotlight. There was the time he donned a wedding dress and claimed to marry himself. In that location were his stints on reality television and equally a pro wrestler. And in that location was his unusual human relationship with the N Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, to whom he sang "Happy Birthday" in 2014.

So when President Trump and Mr. Kim began their historic meeting in Singapore on Tuesday, it seemed inevitable that The Worm, every bit Mr. Rodman is known, would make an appearance.

The retired basketball star has met both men and forged unlikely ties to North Korea, traveling to the isolated disciplinarian state several times and once taking a team of retired basketball players to Pyongyang, the Northward's capital, to play before Mr. Kim.

In an emotional interview with CNN before long later Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim shook hands, Mr. Rodman expressed his hopes for the meeting, declaring, "Today is a bully day."

Speaking to CNN from Singapore, Mr. Rodman wore sunglasses, a red "Make America Great Again" hat and a T-shirt bearing the name of PotCoin, a marijuana industry cryptocurrency that sponsored his trip. He teared up at times during the interview with Chris Cuomo equally he recounted the criticism he received for visiting North Korea later on Mr. Kim became leader.

Mr. Rodman said he got "so many death threats" after returning home.

"But I kept my caput up high, brother," he said. "I knew things were going to change. I knew information technology. I was the only i."

"Today is a bully day for everybody: Singapore, Tokyo, China, everything," Mr. Rodman connected. "It's a great 24-hour interval, and I'g here to see information technology. I'm so happy!"

While some people have criticized Mr. Rodman as an attention-hungry interloper, others have suggested he has a unique role in the warming ties between the United States and North Korea.

Mr. Cuomo said on CNN that Mr. Rodman "is our best resource at this point right now for agreement the minds of the two men, peculiarly Kim Jong-un."

His guest James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, said that "every bit weird as it is," he agreed.

"This whole thing is unconventional," Mr. Clapper said.

As in previous interviews, Mr. Rodman declined to directly reply questions almost human being rights abuses in Due north Korea. He best-selling, nevertheless, that he was "very naïve" in 2013 when he start traveled there.

Mr. Rodman won two N.B.A. championships with the Detroit Pistons and three with the Chicago Bulls, and was known as much for his tough defense and rebounding as his hair dye and fingernail polish.

His Due north.B.A. fame helped him forge a connection with Mr. Kim, and he is one of the few people to take a relationship with both Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump. He appeared on "The Glory Apprentice," the television receiver show hosted past Mr. Trump, in 2009 and 2013. Mr. Trump praised Mr. Rodman'due south first visit to North korea, saying in 2013, "Maybe Dennis is a lot better than what we have."

But he later lashed out at him. "Dennis Rodman was either drunk or on drugs (delusional) when he said I wanted to go to Democratic people's republic of korea with him," Mr. Trump tweeted in 2014. "Glad I fired him on Amateur!"

Mr. Rodman said that Mr. Kim had asked him to laissez passer along a message to Barack Obama, and so president, merely "Obama didn't give me the fourth dimension of mean solar day."

Despite the earlier criticism from Mr. Trump, Mr. Rodman said that the president had acknowledged his contribution to ties with North korea alee of the Singapore meeting. A secretary for the president had called, Mr. Rodman said. "She said, 'Dennis, Donald Trump is and so proud of y'all. He thank you you lot a lot.'"

"And that means a lot," he added. "Later all these years, the fact that I somewhat had something to do with this Due north Korea situation, but I don't want to take any credit, where credit is due. I think we all need to accept credit."

While Mr. Rodman said goose egg well-nigh the many obstacles to a lasting peace between the two sides, he said contact between the leaders was an important commencement.

"Allow'south just hope for the best," Mr. Rodman said. "We don't need a phenomenon, we just need the doors to be open so we tin start anew and make this world a better identify."

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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/world/asia/dennis-rodman-interview-kim-trump.html

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