Dennis Rodman was overwhelmed by emotion while laying out some of the nuances that he believes have made a difference in the way President Trump has approached the conflict with North Korea as opposed to how the United States engaged the rogue nation under Obama, on Monday, June 11.
Rodman sat down to talk with CNN's Chris Cuomo just hours after Trump met with Kim Jong Un for the first time. Impassioned by images of the rival world leaders shaking hands in the lead up to them commencing to discuss the prospects of denuclearization in a Singapore hotel, the NBA great was eventually moved to tears.
Behind Rodman's stirring sentiments were memories of him having to persevere through threats, having at one point to go into hiding over his willingness to reach out to the Kim Jong regime some years ago.
Rodman expressed high confidence in the North Korean dictator's willingness to engage the U.S. towards a resolution, noting how he conveyed the conditions that Kim Jong had for him to deliver to Washington if there ever were to be a lasting relationship with the entire Korean peninsula. But, for as long as the previous administration held office, the baller-turned-ambassador didn't believe such ends would be possible.
"Obama didn't even give me the time of day. I asked him; I said I had something to say from North Korea. He brushed me off," said Rodman. "But that didn't deter me. I still kept going back, I showed my loyalty to this country, and I said to everybody the door will open."
