President Trump on Sunday targeted NBC's Chuck Todd in a tweet.
President Trump has lashed out at NBC News' Chuck Todd who questioned what the U.S. was gaining by engaging in ongoing negotiations with North Korea.
"Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake News NBC just stated that we have given up so much in our negotiations with North Korea, and they have given up nothing. Wow, we haven't given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!" Trump tweeted Sunday morning.
His message was in response to comments Todd made on air.
"There's not many preconditions the United States is asking for, so far in this potential summit. North Koreans have gotten a lot out of it. What has the United States gotten yet? We don't have a release of any of those Americans that they've held captive. We don't have a pledge of denuclearization as the ultimate goal. There's a lot of things they are not promising that are raising some red flags," Todd said.
And, during an interview with White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short on "Meet the Press," Todd repeated those points and said, "We've given [North Korean leader Kim Jong Un] the meeting. That in itself is a huge give. What have we gotten in return?"
Short responded, "One, is the agreement to stop testing which is something North Korea's not done before. We also, though, have cautious optimism, Chuck. We are cautious. You heard the president say many times, 'We're going to keep up the maximum pressure.' We're not going to stop that until they denuclearize."
Kim did announce an end to testing, saying through a state news agency Saturday, "under the proven condition of complete nuclear weapons, we no longer need any nuclear tests, mid-range and intercontinental ballistic rocket tests, and that the nuclear test site in northern area has also completed its mission."
However, an ABC News report points out that he did not promise to denuclearize nor have other similar declarations always been followed in the past.
The scrutiny comes as Kim is set to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in as a prelude to a potentially historic meeting with Trump in the coming months.