Watch Woodward Read ‘Love Letters’ Between Trump and Kim Jong Un: ‘Our Relationship is Out of a Fantasy Film’
Bob Woodward sat down with 60 Minutes’ Scott Pelley to discuss his new book, Rage, and shared conversations he had with President Donald Trump about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, as well as reading some of the “love letters” that were exchanged between the two world leaders.
The book’s revelations about Trump’s comments regarding the coronavirus have dominated the news, but Woodward first started chatting with Trump back in December 2019, before the pandemic began.
Woodward told Pelley that Trump repeatedly said to him that the situation with North Korea was far more fraught than many people realized. After North Korea tested its first intercontinental missile in 2017, Trump authorized Defense Secretary James Mattis to shoot down any North Korean missile aimed at the United States.
“You don’t know how close we were to war,” Trump said to Woodward.
So far, Trump and Kim have met in person three times. They also exchanged many letters and Woodward was able to obtain more than two dozen of them. He read several excerpts to Pelley.
Bob Woodward: Kim says to Trump, “Our meetings, our relationship, is out of a fantasy film.” He says, “There is a magical force between us.” “Even now, I cannot forget that moment of history, when I firmly held your Excellency’s hand as the whole world watched.”
Scott Pelley: Did the CIA have a look at Kim’s letters?
Bob Woodward: Yes.
Scott Pelley: And what did they make of them?
Bob Woodward: They never figured out who was writing them. But the analysts concluded that they’re masterpieces. Because they are appealing to Trump’s sense of grandiosity.
Watch the video above, via CBS.
