Advisers Convince Trump From Harder Line on N. Korea 🇰🇷

While Donald Trump has been praised for sticking to prepared remarks on his Asia trip rather than lashing out with potentially dangerous verbal attacks against North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, a key speech in Seoul was not the address the president had initially wanted to give.

A top U.S. official with direct knowledge of the Asia trip told NBC News that Trump had initially wanted to deliver a message of strength that Kim Jong Un — and his Chinese and occasional Russian backers — could not ignore.

“The president doesn’t want war,” the official said. “But he wants to show strength. It’s about projecting power, to send a message to the region that the U.S. backs its allies, and stands up to threats in a way that’s unlike previous administrations.”

To make that point, Trump had intended to give a 35-minute speech to South Korea's National Assembly that more directly criticized the North Korean regime. Asked who persuaded the president to ease up on the rhetoric, the source told NBC News, “Let's say it was a group effort.”

He declined to elaborate on what specifically was “toned down.” White House aides, according to the source, said they failed to convince the president to drop references to golf in the speech, including a plug of his own golf course. In a lengthy aside, Trump praised South Koreans for their apparent national prowess at the sport.

UCJ, UNILORIN.