Former Vice President Joe Biden admitted that President Donald Trump could succeed in his peace talks with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, noting that former President Barack Obama never reached that point in diplomacy with the rogue nation.
Biden expressed concerns that Trump was not fully informed on foreign policy issues but reserved making a judgment on his effort to sit down with North Korea.
“What I don’t want to do is jinx this for him,” Biden said, pointing out that he would have advised Obama to meet with Kim Jong-un if the opportunity arose. “We never got there, because he never was willing to, but now Kim is saying ‘OK, I’m willing to talk.’”
Biden made his remarks during an interview with former Obama staffers on their podcast Pod Save America.
He cautioned Democrats to resist the temptation to “dump all over” Trump’s attempt at diplomacy.
“This is a moment where there is a possibility of getting something good to happen,” he said, pointing out that it required hard work and “a lot of luck.”
Biden argued that there was an incredibly difficult learning curve on foreign policy, citing his own experience on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“I don’t doubt that President Trump has a high IQ, that he’s bright, that he’s well educated, but that’s not enough, you have to be substantively informed,” Biden said.