Trump debated bombing North Korea with nuclear strike & blaming another state, claims book

In another revelation related to former US President Donald Trump during his tenure in the White House, a new afterword to a book has claimed that Trump, behind closed doors in 2017, discussed the idea of using a nuclear weapon against North Korea and suggested he could blame a US strike against the communist regime on another country, behind closed doors in 2017. The alleged comments by Trump have been recorded in a new section of a book titled "Donald Trump v. the United States" authoured by prominent Washington DC journalist Michael Schmidt.

The comments came during a period when tensions between the US and North Korea-led Kim Jong-un escalated, alarming then-White House chief of staff John Kelly. The book offers an examination of Kelly’s life and tenure as Trump's chief of staff from July 2017 to January 2019. Kelly previously was Trump's secretary of homeland security. For the account, Schmidt cites in part dozens of interviews on background with former Trump administration officials and others who worked with Kelly, reported NBC news.

Eight days after Kelly arrived at the White House as chief of staff, Trump warned that North Korea would be "met with fire and fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before." When Trump delivered his first speech to the U.N. General Assembly in September 2017, he threatened to "totally destroy North Korea" if Kim, whom he referred to as "Rocket Man," continued his military threats, according to NBC who accessed the book.

Trump during his presidency both threatened and praised North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying at one point that the pair “fell in love,” even as the two countries had tensions over nuclear weapons. “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 back in 2018. 

Schmidt’s book, first published in 2020, is set to be released next week in paperback with the new afterword included.

Trump to hold first 2024 Presidential campaign event

Former President Trump is planning to hold the first public campaign event of his 2024 White House bid in the early-voting state of South Carolina. Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told The Associated Press on January 12 that Trump will visit South Carolina later this month. No other details were immediately announced, reported AP.

Since announcing his latest presidential run in November, Trump has limited his public campaign appearances to events at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida before an invited crowd or in a virtual setting. The South Carolina visit, first reported by Politico, comes as Trump’s campaign has faced criticism, even among some longtime allies, for its low profile since the announcement.

Trump remained popular in South Carolina throughout his term in office after his decisive 2016 primary victory in the state helped cement his status atop a wide field of rivals. Heading into the 2024 campaign, it's unclear how broad his support is in the state, although he has at least one high-level backer among the South Carolina's GOP leadership. The night that Trump announced his 2024 bid, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster — who, as lieutenant governor in 2016 was the first statewide-elected official in the country to endorse Trump — said he would again support the former president.

(with AP inputs)