Trump says he won’t rush North Korea deal

Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, MO.

President Donald Trump says he won’t rush into any deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump told a rally Friday in Springfield, Mo., that he received a “beautiful letter” two days ago from Kim. But he’s not saying what the letter said.

The president and Kim met in June in Singapore to discuss denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

Trump says he has a “very good” relationship with Kim. He notes that North Korea has returned Americans being held there, as well as remains of American service members who went missing during the Korean War.

The president also notes that North Korea has not conducted any ballistic missile or nuclear weapons tests in months.

Trump said, “Let’s see what happens,” adding “I’m in no rush.”

When taking the stage at the campaign rally – his second rally in as many nights – Trump opened by telling the cheering crowd of thousands in Springfield that “our country is respected again.” He said that’s because “we are finally putting America first.”

The president was in Missouri to campaign for state attorney general Josh Hawley, who is challenging incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. Trump has been campaigning aggressively to help the Senate expand its narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate.

Trump campaigned in Las Vegas on Thursday night to help Sen. Dean Heller, the only Republican seeking re-election in a state that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in 2016.

Earlier Friday, Trump signed legislation to fund the Energy Department, veterans’ programs and the legislative branch, including Congress and the Capitol police.

Trump signed the measures during an event at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, where he stressed his efforts to improve veterans’ care.

Congress last week approved the $147 billion package as part of an effort by congressional leaders to head off a government shutdown that Trump has threatened he might force over funding for his border wall.

The bill includes money for veterans’ health care, military infrastructure, the electrical grid and nuclear weapons programs.

It also provides a $1.1 billion increase to pay for efforts to give veterans more freedom to see doctors outside the troubled VA system. It will require Senate candidates to file electronic campaign finance reports.

In other Trump-related news, the U.S. Marshals Service says a Pennsylvania man accused of threatening Trump and law-enforcement officials has been arrested in Ohio.

They say Shawn Richard Christy was arrested at 4:45 p.m. Friday in Mifflin Township, near Columbus, by marshals and task-force members from Ohio and Pennsylvania.

A federal warrant was issued June 19 for the 27-year-old McAdoo man in connection to Facebook posts threatening to shoot Trump and a district attorney in Pennsylvania. Officials say he also threatened a police chief.