Elton John has revealed his thoughts on former President Donald Trump nicknaming North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man” after one of the singer’s hit songs.
In a recent interview with Variety at the Toronto Film Festival, the “Tiny Dancer” singer revealed that he thought Trump’s nickname was hilarious.
“I laughed, I thought that was brilliant,” John said. “I just thought, ‘Good on you, Donald.’ … Donald’s always been a fan of mine, and he’s been to my concerts many, many times. So, I mean, I’ve always been friendly toward him, and I thank him for his support. When he did that, I just thought it was hilarious. It made me laugh.”
The nickname first surfaced in 2017 when then-President Trump took a hard stance against North Korea’s saber-rattling and threats of nuclear warfare. After North Korea conducted a series of long-range missile tests and threatened strikes on the U.S. mainland, Trump said he would rain “fire and fury” on the totalitarian nation and referred to Kim Jong Un as “little Rocket Man.”
“You will see. It’s not a dare, it’s a statement. It has nothing to do with dare. That’s a statement. He’s not going to go around threatening Guam and he’s not going to threaten the United States and he’s not going to threaten Japan and he’s not going to threaten South Korea,” the president said at the time.
Trump has credited his no-nonsense approach to dealing with threats from North Korea with reigning in Kim Jong Un, who later agreed to a historic summit with the former president. After a series of meetings, Trump became the first sitting president to travel to North Korean territory and meet with the totalitarian leader when the two shook hands in the infamous Korean Demilitarized Zone and crossed the respective borders between North and South Korea.
Trump has vowed to continue talks with North Korea and work towards ending the long frozen Korean conflict and put an end to the rogue nations threats to the South Pacific region, the United States and the world at large.
Elsewhere in the interview with Variety, Elton John told the outlet that he will not be using his concerts to tell fans who they should vote for in November.
“I don’t go on stage and say to people, ‘You must vote for the Republicans, you must vote for the Democrats.’ It’s none of my business how they vote. They come to see me, and I’m so grateful they have,” John said.
