By Bo Erickson
DENTON, Texas, Oct 1 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump has talked a lot about wanting to meet Kim Jong Un again but so far his entreaties to the North Korean leader have gone unanswered. Can former NBA star Dennis Rodman help prompt a rebound in their relationship?
Rodman was in Trump’s entourage on Thursday as the president spoke at a truck factory in Denton, Texas, before heading to a campaign rally at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma. No reason was given for Rodman’s presence, but he is an alumnus of the Durant school.
The inclusion of Rodman in Trump’s traveling party comes as the president tries to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Kim, and Rodman is known to be friendly with the head of the nuclear-armed nation.
“When I wanted to get to know Kim Jong Un when we’re having a problem — Kim Jong Un and I get along — but the one who knew him best was Dennis Rodman,” Trump told workers at the Peterbilt factory in Denton.
Nearby sat Rodman on the back of a semi-truck. The basketball hall-of-famer wore a black Chicago Bulls hat, studded black jeans, and a shirt depicting himself lifting a trophy.
As Rodman subsequently hopped into the presidential motorcade for the ride north to Oklahoma, he told Reuters that he hoped to speak with Trump about “life.”
Asked if he was going to North Korea any time soon, the basketball legend responded: “If you buy the ticket.”
In his first term, Trump had three high-profile meetings with Kim, including a visit to the Korean Demilitarized Zone, but has not staged a similar event since returning to the presidency.
Trump has called Kim a friend that he can work with, despite North Korea’s belligerent rhetoric and embrace of nuclear arms.
The president is scheduled to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next month in China, and could theoretically add a meeting with Kim as part of that trip.
“He likes Trump, doesn’t like a lot of other people,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday at the White House. “I’m about the only person in the entire world that he likes, and I like him.”
(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Steve Holland; Editing by Sergio Non and Lincoln Feast.)
