Sen. Dianne Feinstein Dianne Feinstein Feinstein: Trump immigration plan bad for agriculture Senators call for disclosure of administration’s ethics waivers Overnight Cybersecurity…
Sen. Dianne Feinstein Dianne Feinstein Feinstein: Trump immigration plan bad for agriculture Senators call for disclosure of administration’s ethics waivers Overnight Cybersecurity: Senate confirms Trump’s FBI pick | Lawmakers move to boost ‘internet of things’ security | Senators unveil overseas data privacy bill MORE (D-Calif.) said in a statement Tuesday that President Trump’s « bombastic » comments in response to North Korea’s reported successful miniaturization of nuclear warheads are « not helping the situation. »
Trump addressed Pyongyang’s new nuclear capabilities at his New Jersey golf club on Tuesday, saying that North Korean threats would be « met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before. »
Trump’s remarks raised eyebrows on social media, and Feinstein and other congressional Democrats called them unhelpful.
“Isolating the North Koreans has not halted their pursuit of nuclear weapons, » Feinstein said. « And President Trump is not helping the situation with his bombastic comments. »
« There is no question that North Korea is seeking to add a nuclear warhead to an ICBM capable of reaching the United States, » she added.
According to a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment published Tuesday, North Korea has successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead to mount on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) , bringing the regime closer to its goal of reaching the U. S. mainland with a nuclear weapon.
She added that « what this tells me is that our policy of isolating North Korea has not worked. The United States must quickly engage North Korea in a high-level dialogue without any preconditions. Hopefully, Secretary Tillerson is already discussing the possibility of reopening talks with our Asian partners during his current trip. In my view, diplomacy is the only sound path forward.”
Sen. Brian Schatz (D) of Hawaii tweeted on Tuesday saying Trump’s remarks were « unwise, » and said « we need Ambassador to South Korea, Secretary for East Asia Affairs, and Secretary for Asian Pacific Security Affairs sent to Senate now. »
Sen. Ben Cardin Ben Cardin Trump admin not opposed to new war authorization Both sides of the aisle agree — telemedicine is the future Republicans get agreement on Russia, North Korea sanctions MORE (Md.) , the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said Trump’s comments « were not helpful and once again show that he lacks the temperament and judgement to deal with the serious crisis the United States confronts. »
« We should not be engaging in the same kind of blustery and provocative statements as North Korea about nuclear war, » Cardin said.
Secretary of State Tillerson met with Thai leaders in Bangkok on Tuesday to push the country to act on the growing North Korea threat.
