Trump told Sarah Sanders to settle in North Korea and 'take one for the team' after Kim Jong-un winked at her
President Donald J. Trump told former White House press secretary she would have to “go to North Korea and take one for the team” after Kim Jong-un apparently winked at her during a summit in Singapore in June 2018. “Kim Jong-un hit on you!” a delighted POTUS quipped, Sanders writes in her new memoir. “He did! He f*****g hit on you!”
'Speaking for Myself' is set to hit the shelves next Tuesday. According to The Guardian, which obtained a copy, the book is a tribute to the president by a loyal team member -- amidst the barrage of tell-alls or burn-alls on Trump and family that have come out recently. Furthermore, the subtitle for this one reads, 'Faith, Freedom and the Fight of Our Lives Inside the Trump White House.'
It's worth noting that Sanders comes from a reputable Republican family. Her father Mike Huckabee, who ran for president in 2008 and 2016, served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. In the book, Sanders gives a glimpse into a rather jovial side of the POTUS not known to many, especially among his critics.
Recalling the incident with Kim, who consistently made headlines with the US leader in the first two years of his presidency, Sanders describes a session at the Singapore talks when the North Korean supremo "reluctantly" accepted a Tic Tac from Trump. She notes how the president “dramatically blew into the air to reassure Kim it was just a breath mint” and not poison. At some point, Sanders writes, the two men were talking about sports and she looked up “to notice Kim staring at me. We made direct eye contact and Kim nodded and appeared to wink at me. I was stunned. I quickly looked down and continued taking notes."
“… All I could think was, ‘What just happened? Surely Kim Jong-un did not just mark me!?’” she added.
Sanders says she later relayed the incident to Trump and his then-chief of staff, John Kelly, when they were on the way to the airport inside the presidential “Beast” limousine.
“Kim Jong-un hit on you!” Trump said. “He did! He f*****g hit on you!”
Sanders does not spell out the expletive, but writes that she told Trump that was not what she meant. Kelly, however, appears to side with the president and quips: “Well, Sarah, that settles it. You’re going to North Korea and taking one for the team! Your husband and kids will miss you, but you’ll be a hero to your country!”
Both Trump and Kelly “howled with laughter” as the limo drove on, Sanders added.
Trump has met with Kim three times till now -- once in Singapore, then in Hanoi, and finally at the groundbreaking crossover in the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea. However, Sanders insists that it would take a "miracle" for the president to convince Kim to give up his nuclear arsenal.
Having said that, Sanders also revisits other notable aspects of Trump's North Korean saga, including the May 2018 release of three Americans formerly held by Pyongyang, as well as talks with former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who has established a close relationship with Kim over the years.