Otto Warmbier’s mom fumes at Trump for lavishing praise on Kim Jong-un while at dinner with her family
DONALD Trump lavished praise on Kim Jong-un as he sat for dinner with the friends and family of Otto Warmbier, whose arrest in North Korea led to his tragic death.
Otto’s mother, Cindy, made the revelation today, on the third anniversary of her son’s death, as she addressed a seminar hosted by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
Otto, 21, was arrested at Pyongyang International Airport in January 2016 and accused of trying to steal a propaganda poster from a staff-only area of his hotel.
When he was released 17 months later, the American student was comatose, and he died within a week of his return to the US, never regaining consciousness.
Crediting Trump for Otto’s release, Cindy said she was nonetheless “pissed off” at him for flattering Kim Jong-un.
“There are people that hate Americans,” she said.
“This [Kim] regime hates us, so how can we act like they’re our friend? They hate us – they enjoyed killing Otto.
“They kept him for over a year in a vegetative state because they were scared to send him home and the only reason they did [send him home] was because of Trump.
“Really, Trump – as much as he’s done that I’m mad at – I don’t know that anybody else could have gotten Otto home.”
In February 2019, Donald Trump defended Kim Jong-un over the death of Warmbier insisting the despot “didn’t know” about his horrific treatment in a North Korean prison.
Following his nuke summit with Kim in Vietnam, the US President discussed the American student who was sentenced to 15 years hard labour by the rogue state for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster.
After 17 months in jail, Warmbier was returned home in a coma in June 2017 after suffering brain damage while jailed in the country. He died six days later.
Trump said he had raised the issue of the US tourist’s treatment during his crunch talks with Kim and believed the murderous dictator’s denial.
Trump said: “He tells me he didn’t know about it and I will take him at his word.”
Warmbier’s mom later continued: “Do I like Trump saying Kim is a fine person? What do you think? Hell no.
“It makes me sick and it pissed me off and he knows it.
“And he had us over to dinner, and we invited a group of Otto’s friends… so a bunch of his friends and, you can imagine, not all of them were big Trump lovers.
“And we’re around this table with President Trump and he’s still talking about liking Kim. And it’s like ‘we all hate him, don’t you get it?’
“You know, he’s an enigma. I don’t get it. I know he feels bad about Otto and I know he would like this feather in his cap to get them [North Korea] denuclearized.
“It’s not gonna happen.”
She subsequently added: “President Trump has done great things for us and he’s hurt my feelings a whole lot.”
Mrs Warmbier was also critical about the Obama administration, revealing that the former US president “never” reached out to her and her husband, Fred.
She said: “Need I say more? Not before, not during, not after. Vice President Biden didn’t. I don’t know why. [He] still hasn’t.”
She also advised other American families not to depend on Washington if their loved ones get kidnapped by hostile foreign powers.
“First advice: don’t rely on the government,” she said. “Don’t think that you’re an American, you can get home.”
“Don’t go to these places,” she added.
And Cindy was vocal in her belief that nukes shouldn’t be put above human rights when it comes to North Korea.
“We think it’s a mistake that you’re just focusing on the nuclear,” she said.
“Number one: you haven’t had any success – in fact, it seems the opposite.
“And number two: if you ignore the human rights, it’s the same thing as saying it’s okay with us.
“And it’s allowing it to continue, and it’s telling other countries ‘go ahead with this bad behavior’ because good things happen for them.”
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And her message to Kim Jong-un and his regime brooked no opposition.
“Let them self-destruct,” she said. “Stop trying to prop them up.
“That’s my words: see you in hell.”