To the surprise of many political observers, Republican lawmakers who refused to support Donald Trump in 2016 were offering among the highest words of praise Thursday morning for the president's startling decision to exit from the proposed June 12 summit with North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un.
Sen. Ben Sasse R-Neb., who refused to endorse Trump in 2016 and remains a frequent critic of the president, said Trump "made the right call to cancel this summit, if North Korea wants diplomacy, it should know that half-measures and spin about its nuclear program won't cut it."
"Kim Jong Un is a murderous despot and habitual liar," Sasse added. "The President made the right call to cancel this summit."
Freshman Rep. John Faso, R-N.Y., who refused to tell us who he would support for president in October 2016, said he agreed with Trump's decision.
"North Korea is obviously posturing and when they're serious, the U.S. will be ready to engage them," Faso told Newsmax.
"Great" is how Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., characterized the president's surprise decision.
"And I think he's consistently doing a great job as president," added Kinzinger, an early Jeb Bush enthusiast in the 2016 Republican nomination battle who has never said how he voted in November of that year.
Kinzinger, a Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said "if the president still eagerly went to Singapore [site of the summit] in June after the letter [from the vice-foreign minister of North Korea attacking Vice President Mike Pence and National Security Adviser John Bolton], he would have been negotiating from a position of weakness."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.