President Donald Trump issued a buttoned-up statement on Friday afternoon addressing the backlash to his comments defending North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un over the death of Otto Warmbier.

“I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family,” Sarah Sanders Trump wrote on Twitter. “Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch. Of course I hold North Korea responsible…for Otto’s mistreatment and death.”

“Most important, Otto Warmbier will not have died in vain,” he continued. “Otto and his family have become a tremendous symbol of strong passion and strength, which will last for many years into the future. I love Otto and think of him often!”

I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family. Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch. Of course I hold North Korea responsible….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019

….for Otto’s mistreatment and death. Most important, Otto Warmbier will not have died in vain. Otto and his family have become a tremendous symbol of strong passion and strength, which will last for many years into the future. I love Otto and think of him often!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019



At his nuclear summit with the dictator in Vietnam this week, Trump absolved Kim of responsibility for the death of Warmbier, an American student who was imprisoned in North Korea, tortured and returned to the United States in a coma, where he died.

“He tells me he didn’t know about it, and I take him at his word,” Trump said of Kim. He also praised the dictator as “very smart” and “a real leader.”

After Trump was criticized, by some lawmakers in his own party, Warmbier’s parents issued a statement after the summit in response.

“We have been respectful during this summit process,” Cindy and Fred Warmbier wrote. “Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son, Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. “No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/2Vw37ke