Dennis Rodman wants to leave the bench for a seat at the table.
The NBA legend told USA TODAY on Friday he’d like to join United States President Donald Trump when he holds talks with Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s Supreme Leader, in May over the ongoing nuclear-weapons crisis and possibly ending hostilities. The White House on Thursday announced Trump had accepted Kim’s invitation for talks, and Rodman later stated his desire to participate in the meetings.
“Big respect to President Trump and Marshal Kim Jong Un for their historic meeting coming up,” Rodman said in a statement via his agent, per USA TODAY, “I said it back in 2014 on CNN that the door will open eventually.”
“(I’d) love to (join the talks)” Rodman responded to a USA TODAY question.
Rodman is one of just two people who have met both Kim and Trump, joining South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who relayed the summit invitation to the president. Rodman has visited North Korea several times as a private citizen and first met Kim in 2013. The two have been considered friends for years.
Many argue the U.S. and North Korea technically have been at war since 1950, but shooting stopped July 27, 1953 with the signing of an armistice agreement. If the Trump-Kim meeting takes place, it would be the first face-to-face meeting between a sitting U.S. president and North Korean leader.
