May 24, 2018 02:24 PM UTC

Coffman First Praised Trump for Planning a Summit with North Korea and Then for Canceling It

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• by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) jumped on the radio this morning to say it’s a good thing Trump isn’t “so eager” to hold a summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

But three months ago, when Trump was facing criticism for impulsively pursuing a summit, Coffman said it was “positive” for Trump to meet with Kim Jong Un.

“I think that the fact that the president does not show that he’s so eager for an agreement is a positive,” said Coffman on KOA’s Morning News today. “I think that there’s still hope for an agreement. But it will be an agreement that will be for a lasting peace–and not the type of agreement that we’ve had by prior administrations, that the North Koreans have broken every one of them.” (May 24 at 50 seconds)

In March, when asked about Trump’s announcement of plans to meet with Kim Jong Un, Coffman called the development “positive.”

“I think obviously it’s positive when people are talking,” said Coffman, adding that he’d prefer a lower-level meeting, but economic sanctions and “containment is not the solution in and of itself.” (March 9 at 1 min 50 seconds)

Over the past three months, Coffman also changed his view completely about whether military force should be considered an option against North Korea.

The Aurora Congressman said March 9 on the same KOA 850-AM program that “obviously the threat of the use of military force is always on the table” (March 9 at 2 minutes 20 seconds) and then today that “certainly military conflict should not ever be viewed as an option.” (May 24 at 4 min 10 seconds)

A call to Coffman’s office seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Trump’s decision to meet with Kim Jong Un was met with surprise by Washington’s foreign policy establishment, in part because of the animosity that the two leaders had shown toward each other since Trump entered office.

In announcing the cancellation of his meeting with North Korea, Trump did not rule out the possibility of a future summit.