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  • -President Trump and Kim Jong-un met in Singapore Tuesday

  • for the first-ever summit between an American president

  • and a North Korean leader.

  • For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."

  • [ Cheers and applause ]

  • No matter your feelings on Donald Trump,

  • he is currently attempting diplomacy over war,

  • which is undeniably the better option.

  • That said, I do have some concerns based on some things

  • Donald Trump did and said yesterday

  • and also based on the fact that he is Donald Trump.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • For example, Trump has managed this summit very much

  • like a made-for-TV spectacle, fueling speculation

  • about whether it would even happen or not.

  • Minting commemorative coins, writing dramatic letters,

  • and staging photo ops with game-show-sized envelopes.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Look at that -- it looks like Trump is auditioning

  • to be the next mascot for Gmail.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • And the media has responded in kind.

  • Yesterday, for example, they spent the day

  • obsessively tracking Kim Jong-un's whereabouts

  • in Singapore as he made his way about the town.

  • -Kim Jong-un, someone who rarely leaves his own country --

  • this is the furthest he's ever traveled --

  • is out and about on the town in Singapore.

  • -Kim Jong-un to be out strolling the streets of Singapore.

  • -Now you see him walking around the streets of Singapore.

  • He has crowds of people.

  • I could see across the road lots of people taking photos of him,

  • waving at him.

  • -We don't know whether he's going back

  • to the St. Regis Hotel or for another stop,

  • but clearly, you know, the night is young for Kim Jong-un.

  • -As you saw there, he was walking into

  • the Marina Bay Sands, a very popular hotel

  • that has a casino inside of it.

  • -Kim Jong-un hanging out at a nightclub in Singapore.

  • -Good Lord.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Why not just make an old-timey newsreel?

  • "Ah, Singapore, the jewel of the Orient.

  • Folks here are all a-flutter about the upcoming summit.

  • Why, who's this?

  • It's none other than North Korean dictator

  • Kim Jong-un taking a break from torturing his own people

  • to pose for a few snaps with American businessman Don Trump.

  • Shake it away, boys!"

  • [ Laughter ]

  • [ Cheers and applause ]

  • Imagine being in that nightclub.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • "Is that Kim Jong-un?"

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Now, in the run-up to this meeting,

  • Trump admitted that he wasn't doing much to prepare.

  • Later, he tried to back away from that comment,

  • and, as usual, rambled his way into talking about

  • the 2016 election and Hillary Clinton.

  • -I didn't say that.

  • I said I've been preparing all my life.

  • I always believe in preparation.

  • But I've been preparing all my life.

  • You know, these one-week preparations, they don't work.

  • Just ask Hillary what happened to her in the debates.

  • -Oh. So Trump prepared for this summit

  • the same way he prepared for the debates.

  • What was that meeting like? Just three hours of Trump

  • stalking Kim Jong-un around a room?

  • [ Laughter, cheers, applause ]

  • What happens when the world's slowest pursuer

  • chases the world's slowest prey?

  • Tonight on "Planet Earth -- Sloth Versus Slug."

  • [ Laughter ]

  • So, Trump admitted he didn't prepare for the summit.

  • The key question going into the meeting was this.

  • How would he know if it was a success?

  • What does success even entail?

  • And was asked that question over the weekend at the G7 in Canada,

  • and his answer did not inspire confidence.

  • -That's a good question -- How long would it take?

  • I think within the first minute, I'll know.

  • Just my touch, my feel. That's what I do.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • -Touch and feel is not how you determine

  • the success of a summit.

  • Touch and feel is how you determine

  • whether a blouse is made of cotton.

  • -♪ The touch, the feel of cotton

  • The fabric of my life

  • -So Trump said he'd know if Kim was serious

  • from his touch and feel, and yesterday we got to see

  • that touch and feel with their first handshake.

  • The first handshake and photo op in history

  • with a North Korean leader and an American president.

  • And I'm sorry, but why can't these guys

  • find a suit that fits them?

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Look at that.

  • [ Cheers and applause ]

  • They look like they shop at a store called Business Pajamas.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Looks like a promo picture for a movie called

  • "Honey, I Shrunk the Dictators."

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Trump and Kim then sat down for a one-on-one meeting,

  • and look at Kim's face.

  • Is it just me, or is even he confused at how he got here?

  • [ Laughter ]

  • It looked like they got set up on a blind date

  • by their weirdest friend.

  • Oh, what? They were?

  • [ Laughter and applause ]

  • In fact, just when you thought it couldn't get any crazier,

  • Dennis Rodman was there in Singapore for the summit,

  • and he was interviewed on CNN wearing a MAGA hat

  • and a shirt for something called PotCoin.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • I'm pretty sure PotCoins are what you have to eat

  • to hallucinate that interview.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Especially when, for some reason,

  • Rodman thanked his agent, former Bulls coach Phil Jackson,

  • and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.

  • -Can I thank some people, though, while I'm here?

  • Can I thank some people?

  • All the good people that stood by me, Darren Prince,

  • you know, Vo,

  • all the guys that went with me to North Korea.

  • You know, I'm thanking Chuck Daly,

  • I'm thanking Phil Jackson, I'm thanking Jeanie Buss,

  • I'm thanking Pete Ginopolis,

  • I'm thanking Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam,

  • everybody that's supported me all through all these things.

  • -Chris Cuomo does pretty good there

  • until his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Man, the news these days really feels like a Mad Lib from 1999.

  • [ Laughter, cheers, applause ]

  • In fact, after watching the summit,

  • you might actually think you O.D.'d on PotCoins

  • from how often Trump,

  • a man who has fought with everyone

  • from allies to war heroes,

  • complimented brutal dictator Kim Jong-un.

  • -Very good. Very, very good.

  • Excellent relationship. Thank you.

  • He's got a great personality.

  • He's a, you know, funny guy.

  • He's a very smart guy. He's a great negotiator.

  • Well, he is very talented. Anybody that takes over

  • a situation like he did at 26 years of age

  • and is able to run it, and run it tough.

  • -What are you talking about?

  • [ Laughter ]

  • This is a guy who starves his own citizens

  • and assassinates people with antiaircraft guns.

  • You're talking about him like he started Apple in his garage.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • But I guess it shouldn't surprise me that

  • Trump's idea of talent is getting rich by taking over

  • your dad's business.

  • Trump was born on third base,

  • whereas Kim was born on third base,

  • and then shot the third baseman.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • In fact, Trump seemed as interested in looking forward

  • at potential business opportunities in North Korea

  • as he was in getting Kim to give up his nuclear weapons.

  • -As an example, they have great beaches.

  • You see that whenever they're exploding

  • their cannons into the ocean.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • I said, "Boy, look at that beach.

  • Wouldn't that make a great condo behind?"

  • And I explained, I said, "You know, instead of doing that,

  • you could have the best hotels in the world right there.

  • Think of it from a real-estate perspective."

  • -He accidentally told a great [bleep] joke.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • I mean...

  • [ Cheers and applause ]

  • ..."They have great beaches.

  • You can see it when they're exploding

  • their cannons into the oceans" is a great [bleep] joke.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • That would be like me coming to work today and saying,

  • "I accidentally signed a treaty."

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Even when he's in the middle of a summit over nuclear weapons,

  • he's still trying to sell a [bleep] hotel timeshare.

  • "If you give up your nuclear weapons now,

  • you can stay one night free at my new Trump Hotel Pyongyang."

  • [ Laughter ]

  • But again, diplomacy with North Korea

  • is undeniably -- it's a good thing.

  • It is a very good thing.

  • It's vastly preferable to fiery rhetoric

  • and threats of nuclear war.

  • The problem isn't that Trump is engaging in diplomacy.

  • The problem is that he doesn't know what he's doing

  • and only cares about optics.

  • For example, at their working lunch yesterday,

  • Trump asked photographers to make sure

  • he and Kim looked good.

  • But watch Kim's face after Trump's comment.

  • -Beautiful.

  • -[ Speaking Korean ]

  • [ Laughter and applause ]

  • -Okay. So now here I can -- If you are wondering, I can --

  • There's an explanation here.

  • You see, he's a ruthless dictator.

  • That was the first time he's ever heard that he's not thin.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • You're looking at a 10-time

  • "People's Republic" Sexiest Man in the World.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • In fact, Trump is apparently so obsessed with the optics

  • of this summit that his White House

  • made an action-movie trailer for the meeting

  • and played it for reporters before his press conference.

  • Trump even said he showed the trailer

  • to Kim Jong-un on an iPad.

  • Again, this is a real video made by our White House.

  • ♪♪

  • -7 billion people inhabit planet Earth.

  • Of those alive today,

  • only a small number will leave a lasting impact.

  • Destiny Pictures presents a story of opportunity.

  • A new story, a new beginning, one of peace.

  • Two men, two leaders, one destiny.

  • Featuring President Donald Trump

  • and Chairman Kim Jong-un

  • in a meeting to remake history.

  • -Is that an official White House video

  • or a direct-to-DVD movie starring Steven Seagal?

  • [ Laughter ]

  • "The White House is under siege,

  • and only one President turned karate master can stop them.

  • Steven Seagal stars as President Trump

  • in 'Tae Kwon Donald.'"

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Of course, when President Obama said he would meet

  • with North Korea without pre-conditions,

  • Republicans mocked him as naive and incompetent,

  • but, today, Trump supporters are showering him with praise.

  • In fact, Trump even seemed to make a major concession

  • to North Korea, apparently without running it by

  • military officials or South Korea first.

  • He promised to stop joint military exercises

  • in the region.

  • Trump explained his decision this way.

  • -We call them war games, and I call them war games,

  • and they're tremendously expensive.

  • The amount of money that we spend on that is incredible.

  • We fly in bombers from Guam.

  • I said -- When I first started, I said,

  • "Where do the bombers come from?"

  • Guam, nearby. I said, "Oh, great, nearby.

  • Where's nearby?" "6 1/2 hours."

  • 6 1/2 hours? That's a long time

  • for these big, massive planes to be flying to South Korea

  • to practice, and then drop bombs all over the place,

  • and then go back to Guam.

  • I know a lot about airplanes.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • -You know a lot about airplanes?

  • Because people who know a lot about airplanes

  • don't have to say, "I know a lot about airplanes."

  • [ Laughter ]

  • If you got on a flight, you would be worried

  • if you heard your pilot say, "We're expecting some

  • light turbulence on our way to sunny Florida.

  • Should take about 3 1/2 hours. Thanks for flying Delta.

  • I know a lot about airplanes."

  • [ Laughter ]

  • Again, diplomacy, so much better than threats of war,

  • and if this summit ratchets down the tension,

  • then that's a good thing.

  • We just have to hope Trump doesn't mess it up,

  • because when it comes to messing things up...

  • -That's what I do.

  • -This has been "A Closer Look."

  • [ Cheers and applause ]

-President Trump and Kim Jong-un met in Singapore Tuesday

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