Elton John is speaking out about what he thinks of former President Trump nicknaming North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un “Little Rocket Man” after one of the singer’s hit songs.
The “Tiny Dancer” singer told Variety in an interview at the Toronto Film Festival last week that he thought Trump’s nickname for the dictator was “hilarious” and made him laugh.
“I laughed, I thought that was brilliant,” John said. “I just thought, ‘Good on you, Donald.’ … Donald’s always been a fan of mine, and he’s been to my concerts many, many times. So, I mean, I’ve always been friendly toward him, and I thank him for his support. When he did that, I just thought it was hilarious. It made me laugh.”
In 2017, Trump and Kim traded threats of destruction as North Korea carried out a slew of high-profile weapons tests aimed at acquiring an ability to launch nuclear strikes on the U.S. mainland. Trump said he would rain “fire and fury” on North Korea and derided Kim as “Little Rocket Man,” while Kim questioned Trump’s sanity and said he would “tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire.”
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Elton John arrives for the premiere of “Elton John: Never Too Late” at Roy Thomson Hall during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Friday. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)
Their relationship seemed to thaw in 2019 when Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to meet with a dictator of North Korea. The former president has since described their relationship as friendly.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump meet inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the South and North Korea in Panmunjom, South Korea, in 2019. (Handout photo by Dong-A Ilbo via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“I got along with Kim Jong-un of North Korea. Remember I walked over […] the first person to ever walk over from this country,” the former president said to a crowd during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last week.
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John also weighed in on the upcoming U.S. presidential election, telling Variety that he won’t use his stage to tell concertgoers who to vote for this fall.
The “Rocket Man” singer said he wants people to vote for “things that are just.” (Michael Campanella/Redferns, File)
“I don’t go on stage and say to people, ‘You must vote for the Republicans, you must vote for the Democrats.’ It’s none of my business how they vote. They come to see me, and I’m so grateful they have,” John said. “What I want by saying that last night … there is a danger, as Dick Cheney said the other day. America is in a very volatile position. And it’s a country I love, and I’ve always loved, and I’m so thankful that it made me who I am.”
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“I just want people to vote for things that are just, things that are important to people: the right to choose, the right to be who you are, and not let anybody else tell you who to be. And that goes all the way up to the Supreme Court,” the “Your Song” singer continued.
