In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump warned of the dangers coming from North Korea and Iran as well as challenges from rival countries, including China and Russia and now some of those countries are responding.
WASHINGTON D. C. (CBSMiami) — In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump warned of the dangers coming from North Korea and Iran as well as challenges from rival countries, including China and Russia and now some of those countries are responding.
President Trump called North Korea a “cruel dictatorship” saying its reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could soon threaten the U. S. and its allies.
“We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening,” said President Trump.
While North Korea has yet to respond, South Korean analysts say Mr. Trump’s fiery rhetoric, without actually issuing a direct military threat, shows his confidence that pressure and sanctions are working.
The President also referred to, what he called, “Iran’s” corrupt dictatorship”, criticizing the 2015 nuclear deal and expressing support for a recent anti-government uprising there.
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani responded by saying his nation would continue to back the Islamic Republic, despite foreign pressure. The country’s foreign minister tweeted, “Trump again confirms his ignorance of Iran and the region”.
President Trump not only addressed rogue regimes, but also brought up challenges to U. S. interests and the economy from rivals, including Russia and China.
A spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry says, “We hope the U. S. can abandon a “cold war mentality” and “outdated zero-sum game ideas” and called on America to focus on cooperation with China.
In response to his decision to keep Guantanamo Bay open, human rights groups say there is no proof the prison deters terrorist activity and that Mr. Trump has missed an opportunity to do what President Obama could not.
