Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says President Trump is “very much ready” to set the table for a peaceful resolution to North Korea’s nuclear threat, though he won’t back down “like we’ve done in the past.”
“Donald Trump is not going to capitulate, so there’s really only two options — peace or war,” Mr. Graham told ABC’s This Week on Sunday.
Mr. Trump landed in Singapore on Sunday for the historic summit on Tuesday. Mr. Kim arrived in a Chinese jumbo jet earlier in the day.
Mr. Graham said he doesn’t expect a deal on Tuesday — it’s the start of a deliberate process.
But he said Mr. Trump won’t let the problem fester in pushing a hard line on Mr. Kim, whose nation would receive long-term security in return.
“I think president wants this to come to an end in his first term. They understand electoral politics in North Korea of the United States, they always try to run out a president in terms of the time on his watch,” he said. “That’s not going to happen here.”
Mr. Graham said he supports Senate Democrats who urged Mr. Trump to get a deal that’s permanent and has verifiable outcomes on denuclearization, but they need to have his back....
“Here’s what I would say to my Democratic colleagues. I appreciate you telling the president what a good deal would look like, but the country needs you to back the president up to get that deal,” he said.