It was the weirdest story of the week. Former NBA star Dennis Rodman hanging out with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Rodman talked about his bizarre visit with George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” on Sunday.
Rodman is the first known American to publicly meet with the mysterious Kim since he assumed command of the totalitarian nation after the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il in 2011.
On Kim’s threats to destroy the United States:
He wants Obama to do one thing: Call him. He said, ‘If you can, Dennis – I don’t want [to] do war. I don’t want to do war.’ He said that to me.”
On his family’s horrendous record on human rights:
I don’t condone that. I hate the fact that he’s doing that. … I didn’t talk about that. …I saw people respected him, his family. … “[He’s] only 28 — 28. He’s not his dad. He’s not his grandpa. He is 28 years old. … He’s very humble. He’s a very humble man.”
On basketball:
[Kim] loves basketball. And I said the same thing, I said, ‘Obama loves basketball.’ Let’s start there.”
On his new buddy:
No, I’m not apologizing for him. … He was a great guy to me. He was my friend. I don’t condone what he does. But as a person to person, he’s my friend. … What I did was history. … He’s a friend to me. That’s about it.”
On returning to Pyongyang:
I’m not like a diplomat. I’m [going to] go back, do one thing and find out more, what’s going on. Find out more.”
Photo: Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC Television
Rodman (Jay Pharoah) and Kim (Bobby Moynihan) were featured in a SNL Weekend Update skit Saturday. The two shared a North Korean high-five – which involves slapping hands front and back, a fist pound and falling missile imitation, sound effects included.
Weekend Update: Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong-un - NBC.com
