Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said Tuesday he admires President Donald Trump's "talent" for nicknaming his foes — including calling out Kim Jong Un as "Rocket Man" during a Tuesday address at the U.N. General Assembly.
In an interview with "Newsmax Now" hosts Bill Tucker and Ellis Henican on Newsmax TV, Rep. King said mocking the North Korea leader certainly got the attention of China.
"I would say of the president, he has a certain talent of identifying people with characteristical descriptions like that and just as often are spot on," King said.
"We need to send a message to him, and the presidents' speech, I don't know if that moves 'Rocket Man,' but I think it does . . . the Chinese to a degree, and maybe the Russians."
"If the Chinese could be convinced that there's either going to be violence or peace on the peninsula only if they initiate a regime change, that's the peaceful way we might be able to get out of this,” he added.
Important: Newsmax TV is available on DirecTV Ch. 349, U-Verse 1220, and FiOS 615. If your cable operator does not have Newsmax TV just call and ask them to put us on – Call toll-free 1-844-500-6397 and we will connect you right away to your cable operator!
For more places to Find Newsmax TV – Click Here Now
North Korea's relentless nuclear missile buildup cannot "go on indefinitely," King added.
"We can't sit here with all these threats coming, acting like there's not going to be a nuclear attempt on a missile that maybe can't quite get to some place that matters to us strategically or sentimentally," he said.
"I don't think we want to see North Korea destroyed," he said. "If it were just a dead little Kim Jong Un, that's the best result we could think of. Only one person dead instead of millions."
King charged Kim got his "nuclear capability in a way by permission slip under Bill Clinton – and then . . . each subsequent president after that."
"Now here we are with . . . nuclear capable North Korea and . . . then nuclear developing arsenal of Iran," he added. "We should have taken them both out and just said we've done this for peace in the world, the Israelis do it, and they get by with it, why couldn't America have done it?"
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.