Dennis Rodman was overcome with emotion during a TV interview about President Donald Trump’s historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday, June 12.
“Today is a great day for everybody — Singapore, Tokyo, China. It’s a great day. I’m here to see it. I’m so happy,” the retired NBA player, 57, said on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time while wearing a red cap emblazoned with Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.”
After wiping tears from his eyes, Rodman explained that he is continuing to advocate for peace between the two nations. He said he is friends with both Trump, 71, and Un, 34.
“I just fell in love with [North Korea] from day one. I guess I owe it to myself and the people around the world. I’m not in this for no money. I never started this for no money. This is not about Dennis Rodman being the greatest person in the world that leads these two people together. … No more hatred.”
The former athlete went on to say that Un is “more like a big kid — even though he’s small — who loves to have a good time.” He added, “This guy wants to be around the world. He wants to come to America. He wants to enjoy his life. He wants his people to enjoy this life.”
Rodman, who claimed that former president Barack Obama “did not give me the time of day,” also said he previously received “death threats” for defending North Korea. “But I kept my head up high, brother,” he continued. “I knew things were gonna change. I was the only one.”
Trump and Un signed a joint agreement on Tuesday morning to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. It was the first-ever summit between a U.S. president and a North Korean leader.
It is unclear whether Rodman and Trump are actually friends. Back in 2014, the real estate mogul wrote in a series of tweets that he was “glad” he fired the five-time NBA champion from The Celebrity Apprentice. “Crazy Dennis Rodman is saying I wanted to go to North Korea with him,” he tweeted at the time. “Never discussed, no interest, last place on Earth I want to go to.”
Dennis Rodman was either drunk or on drugs (delusional) when he said I wanted to go to North Korea with him. Glad I fired him on Apprentice!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2014
Crazy Dennis Rodman is saying I wanted to go to North Korea with him. Never discussed, no interest, last place on Earth I want to go to.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2014
Rodman previously met Un at a basketball exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea, in February 2013.
