- President Donald Trump saluted North Korean general and defense minister No Kwang Chol during the Singapore summit, as seen in a video released by the country's state media.
- Trump is being criticized for showing the general respect.
- North Korea has among the most brutal regimes on Earth, murdering and imprisoning its own citizens for political dissent.
- Trump has also been widely criticized for his friendliness toward North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during and after the summit.
North Korean state media aired a video of President Donald Trump saluting one of the country's top generals during the Singapore summit held last weekend.
In the video, Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un walk down a line of North Korean officials to shake hands. When Trump meets the general, who CNN identified as defense minister No Kwang Chol, Trump fumbles a handshake and salutes instead.
Saluting is widely considered a sign of mutual respect. Kim's regime is considered among the most brutal on Earth. He frequently executes and orders assassinations of political opponents and, according to an estimate from a South Korean think tank, holds 120,000 citizens in prison camps.
Here's the president of the United States saluting a uniformed officer of the Korean People's Army, dutifully captured on tape by a Korean Central Television cameraman for broadcast in North Korea. #TrumpKimpic.twitter.com/crBTx5e5cL
— Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) June 14, 2018
The reactions to the video on Twitter were swift and mostly negative.
Imagine Fox News if Obama did this. 💥💥💥 https://t.co/f6wnf2UjF1
— Rob Patterson (@BfloHealthAtty) June 14, 2018
Watch Trump salute a North Korean General. What a traitor. Pathetic. pic.twitter.com/yVO2C7UHHM
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) June 14, 2018
Firstly, I've found my all time favorite voiceover artist. Second, watch Trump salute a North Korean military commander at around :55. Remember when the GOP went indiscriminately batshit when Obama bowed to Japanese Emperor Akihito? I think the word they used was "treasonous."https://t.co/Qz3UhGJ6Kj
— Bob Cesca (@bobcesca_go) June 14, 2018
Trump was criticized for showing support for the military of a dictatorship responsible for human rights abuses.
RT to support OUR president's desire to support ALL TROOPS! #MAGAhttps://t.co/IpfwCLFd5q
— chris hooks (@cd_hooks) June 14, 2018
Donald Trump salutes a North Korean general.
— Red T Raccoon (@RedTRaccoon) June 14, 2018
This salute is now being used as propaganda in North Korea.
What would Truman and MacArthur say about this?
Do we need to make a note?
"Do not salute the enemy"pic.twitter.com/wVpjJVJkZI
Some people said the moment was awkward, but held little meaning.
This is a silly little moment that says absolutely nothing of substance about Trump, who reacted awkwardly, like anyone might.
— MaybeCooperativeHat (@Popehat) June 14, 2018
But you know -- you KNOW -- how Trump's state media would react to anyone they didn't like doing it.https://t.co/80l9CdktBM
Trump's salute is the equivalent of someone saying "have a safe flight" and you saying "you too!"
— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) June 14, 2018
Everyone take a deep breath. He's not the Manchurian Candidate.
Trump has been under fire for his friendliness towards North Korea.
Trump's friendliness towards Kim and his administration has been a focal point of criticism toward the Singapore summit.
Some of Trump's media allies have praised him for apparently reducing immediate tensions between the United States and North Korea.
But others have criticized him for making excuses for Kim's human rights abuses and considering America's media organizations a greater threat than the nuclear weapon-armed country.
When asked about Kim's killing his own citizens, Trump told Fox News Tuesday that "he's a smart guy."
"When you take over a country, a tough country, tough people and you take it over from your father — I don’t care who you are, what you are, how much of an advantage you have — if you can do that at 27 years old, that’s one in 10,000 that could do that," Trump said. "So he’s a very smart guy. He’s a great negotiator, but I think we understand each other."
Following media reports of his comments, Trump said American media is the "country's biggest enemy."
So funny to watch the Fake News, especially NBC and CNN. They are fighting hard to downplay the deal with North Korea. 500 days ago they would have “begged” for this deal-looked like war would break out. Our Country’s biggest enemy is the Fake News so easily promulgated by fools!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018
Trump's administration has also been criticized for saying North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat, and that the country agreed to an intensive inspections program for their nuclear weapons, even though North Korea still has nuclear weapons and has not given any indication that they agreed to inspections.
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