Donald Trump Reportedly Gave Kim Jong-un a Copy of Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’
President Donald Trump mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by calling him "Rocket Man" last year as tensions over nuclear testing escalated.
But with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meeting with Kim Jong-un this weekend, he's turning that insult into flattery. Pompeo reportedly brought with him a CD, autographed by Trump, that contains the Elton John song as a gift.
An unnamed source told the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo that it was the result of a conversation Kim had with Trump back in June. "The 'Rocket Man' CD was the subject of discussion during Trump's lunch with Kim," the source said. "Kim mentioned that Trump referred to him as 'rocket man' when tensions ran high last year. Trump then asked Kim if he knew the song, and Kim said no."
Remembering the conversation in preparation for the upcoming meeting, Trump instructed Pompeo to give an Elton John CD containing the song. Trump wrote a message on the disc, complete with his signature.
In addition to further discussing the denuclearization of North Korea, Pompeo will reportedly attempt to negotiate the return of the remains of U.S. soldiers who were killed during the Korean War.
Trump also referenced John at a rally in Montana yesterday. Bragging about the size of his crowds, the president compared himself favorably to the rock legend. “I have broken more Elton John records, he seems to have a lot of records," Trump said.
"And I, by the way, I don’t have a musical instrument. I don’t have a guitar or an organ. No organ. Elton has an organ. And lots of other people helping. No we’ve broken a lot of records. We’ve broken virtually every record. Because you know, look I only need this space. They need much more room. For basketball, for hockey and all of the sports, they need a lot of room. We don’t need it. We have people in that space. So we break all of these records. Really we do it without like, the musical instruments. This is the only musical: the mouth. And hopefully the brain attached to the mouth. Right? The brain, more important than the mouth, is the brain. The brain is much more important.”
Originally released on 1972's Honky Chateau, "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)" was John's second Top 10 song, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his highest-charting single to date, though it would be eclipsed a year later when "Crocodile Rock" topped the chart.