Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that China is the only country that can shut down Kim Jong-un, who the Arizona senator called a “crazy fat kid.”
“China is the only one that can control Kim Jong Un, this crazy fat kid that’s running North Korea,” McCain told MSNBC’s Greta van Susteren, adding, “They could stop North Korea’s economy in a week.”
McCain’s statements echo those of President Donald Trump. “It’s a very dangerous situation, and China can end it very quickly in my opinion,” the president told Reuters last month. “I think China has tremendous control over North Korea, whether they say so or not. They could solve the problem very easily if they want to.”
The senator argued that the young North Korean despot Kim Jong-un is far worse than one of history’s worst dictators. “He’s not rational, Greta,” he explained. “We’re not dealing even with someone like Joseph Stalin, who had a certain rationality to his barbarity.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley previously made similar comments, stating, “This is not a rational person.” Speaking at the U.N., she said, “He is not thinking clearly.”
McCain advocated stepping up the pressure on China to help rein in North Korea, which has become increasingly aggressive and provocative. “The Chinese have to understand there’s a penalty … imposed by us if they don’t reign in an individual that can literally start a world war, and more importantly, perhaps in the short term, strike the United States of America.”
“The first place I’d go is China, and say ‘Look, you can shut down their economy … it’s in your interest to do so,'” he added, further commenting, “If the Chinese refuse to do that, we have to consider all options, and not necessarily a world war, but Mr. Kim Jong-un needs to understand that there’s a huge penalty to pay if he even tried it.”
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