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GOP senator: Better to call Kim Jong Un 'rocket man' than 'honorable'

Republican Sen. James Lankford said Sunday that he would not echo President Donald Trump by calling North Korean leader Kim Jong Un honorable, and said Trump would be better served to return to his nickname for the dictator.

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Eli Watkins (CNN)
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republican Sen. James Lankford said Sunday that he would not echo President Donald Trump by calling North Korean leader Kim Jong Un honorable, and said Trump would be better served to return to his nickname for the dictator.

"I would never use the word honorable to describe Kim Jong Un," Lankford, of Oklahoma, said on CNN's "State of the Union." "I think he's better to be able to just call him 'rocket man' and to be able to stick with that than honorable just because he is a ruthless dictator that does public executions of anyone who disagrees."

Trump on Tuesday offered praise for Kim, saying ahead of a potential meeting with the North Korean leader that Kim "has really been very open and I think very honorable based on what we are seeing."

The comment, which he did not explain, came in contrast to Trump's previous mocking of Kim, labeling him "rocket man" on Twitter and in public remarks.

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