Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Reagan Dinner on Friday, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney argued that the failure to reach a deal between President Trump and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un during their recent meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam would not serve as an barrier to future peace talks.
“The President really is a master negotiator, and he was able to walk away from a deal – thanks but no thanks, gotta go – but did so in such a fashion to keep all of the connections, all of the relationships still intact,” Mulvaney said. “So that you can pick up a discussion whenever you want to in the future, there’s no wounds to be healed, there’s no time that has to go by – it’s really a masterful thing.”
“To tell somebody no, and not have them get angry with you is really a skill, and I’ve never seen it done like [Trump] did it with the Chairman [Kim],” he added.
Earlier in his speech, Mulvaney told an anecdote of how President Donald Trump noticed a $4 million discrepancy in specific appropriations weeks from when the original figures were first discussed.
“When you think about how big the government is and how much money we spend, to have him laser focused like that [showed] a tremendous command of numbers, never forgets a number, and has been a real joy to work with when it comes to the budget,” Mulvaney said.
