On Tuesday, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to trade barbs with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’ Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” Trump tweeted.
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018
The tweet came after Kim’s message on Monday in which he warned the United States about North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.
“The entire mainland of the US is within the range of our nuclear weapons and the nuclear button is always on the desk of my office. They should accurately be aware that this is not a threat but a reality,” Kim said.
Kim also seemed to suggest during the address that he would be willing to work agreeably with South Korea, which marks a significant departure from the way North and South Korea usually interact.
Trump addressed that on Twitter as well, tweeting, “Sanctions and ‘other’ pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea. Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea. Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not – we will see!”
Little Rocket Man
Trump has a history of coming after Kim on Twitter and of personally belittling and name-calling the dictator. He has often referred to Kim as “Little Rocket Man.”
At one point, Trump even called Kim “short and fat” after Kim called him a “dotard.”
“Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat?’ Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!” Trump tweeted.
Tuesday’s tweet, then, seems to fit this pattern.