Trump congratulates Kim Jong Un, receives backlash

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (FLV) – Former President Donald Trump drew heavy criticism from a growing number of republican presidential candidates this weekend after he congratulated the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, on his country’s new seat on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) executive board.

In a post to his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump stated “congratulations to Kim Jong Un” while referencing an article explaining how the isolated nation was granted a spot amongst only nine other countries on WHO’s executive board.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, all candidates for the GOP nomination, voiced their disapproval of the former president’s actions.

DeSantis called the North Korean leader a “murderous dictator” and labeled the WHO as a “bankrupt organization.”

“We need to be getting out of that and rejecting the WHO lockdown treaty, not congratulating about being involved in the WHO,” DeSantis said.

Pence also condemned the comments, calling the North Korean leader a “dictator” and characterizing the WHO as an organization that “let America and the world down” regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

“No one should be praising the dictator in North Korea or praising the leader of Russia who has launched an unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine,” Pence said during a stop in Iowa. “This is a time when we ought to make it clear to the world that we stand for freedom and we stand with those who stand for freedom.”

Haley also weighed in and labeled Kim Jong Un a “thug” and said the situation in North Korea is “not something to play with.”

“I mean, he’s a terrible individual. He’s terrible to his people, he’s terrible to our allies in the world, and I don’t think he deserves congratulations,” Haley said.

Trump famously met with Kim Jong Un twice during his tenure as commander in chief, and became the first sitting U.S. president to step foot into North Korea.