U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said she will not “cozy up to” dictators like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom she said was “rooting for” her Republican rival Donald Trump.
In her nomination acceptance speech in Chicago on Thursday, Vice President Harris targeted Trump, who has long boasted about his personal ties with Kim, saying North Korea knows that the former U.S president is “easy to manipulate.”
“I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un who are rooting for Trump,” Harris said on the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention.
“They know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself.”
Trump spearheaded an unprecedented diplomatic push on North Korea when he was president in an effort to get it to abandon its nuclear and missile programs. He met Kim three times but the effort brought no tangible progress and North Korea has been relentlessly building up its nuclear arsenal and developing the missiles with which to carry the bombs.
Trump has recently referred to his efforts on North Korea, implying he could make progress if he returned to the White House.
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Harris, clarifying her foreign policy vision, affirmed her commitment to reinforcing U.S. global leadership and standing strong with NATO.
“I will make sure that we lead the world into the future, that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century, and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership,” she said.
“Trump, on the other hand, threatened to abandon NATO. He encouraged Putin to invade our allies, said Russia do whatever the hell they want,” she added.
She was referring to Trump’s remarks during a campaign rally, where he said that if reelected, he would “encourage” Russia to do whatever it wants to “delinquent” NATO members that fail to meet their defense spending commitments.
She also highlighted her determination to safeguard American values.
“As president, I will never waver in defense of America’s security and ideals because, in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand, and I know where the United States belongs,” Harris said.
During the convention, Harris was officially nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate for the Nov. 5 general election.
Her nomination came after a tumultuous period marked by an assassination attempt against Trump last month and Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race just over three months before the Nov. 5 election, while China, Russia and North Korea are growing closer and strengthening their ties.
Edited by Mike Firn.