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Donald Trump says US avoided ‘nuclear holocaust’ with his ‘deal with North Korea’

Donald Trump claims he managed to avert nuclear war with Kim Jong-un, who he says was willing to push the “red button” on his desk.

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Former US President Donald Trump claims he averted a “nuclear holocaust” via his diplomacy with North Korea.

Mr Trump made the comments in a deposition for his New York civil fraud case, which was recently released to the public, Fox News reports.

“I was very busy. I was — I considered this the most important job in the world, saving millions of lives. I think you would have nuclear holocaust, if I didn’t deal with North Korea,” Mr Trump told lawyers with the New York attorney general’s office in April.

US President Donald Trump shaking hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi on February 27, 2019. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP
US President Donald Trump shaking hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi on February 27, 2019. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

He added: “I think you would have a nuclear war, if I weren’t elected. And I think you might have a nuclear war now, if you want to know the truth.”

Mr Trump gave the deposition over the course of hours as lawyers probed into his company’s operations while he was in the White House.

The former president insisted to interviewers that he had little to do with the Trump Organization while president.

Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un at the Military Demarcation Line dividing North and South Korea in 2019. Picture: Brendan Smialowski/AFP
Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un at the Military Demarcation Line dividing North and South Korea in 2019. Picture: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

Instead, Mr Trump claimed, his children stepped up and oversaw the day-to-day operations of the company.

“They became more intensely involved with the company, I was virtually not involved at all,” Mr Trump told the district attorney’s office.

“I rarely — I’d rarely have anything to do with anything having to do with the company.”

Mr Trump became the first sitting US president to meet with a dictator of North Korea when he shook hands with Kim Jong-un in 2019.

“It started off rough, remember that? I was saying ‘little rocket man’ and he was saying ‘I’ve got a red button on my desk, and I’m willing to use it’,” Mr Trump recalled in an April 2023 interview.

“And then all of a sudden we get a call — they want to meet,” he added. “We would have had that whole situation straightened out shortly after the beginning of my second term.”

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-politics/donald-trump-says-us-avoided-nuclear-holocaust-with-his-deal-with-north-korea/news-story/435764ccdb56760bf355faa945bfc5de