Trump's 'bigger nuke' threat keeps N-Korea's Kim 'on his toes': Nikki Haley

US President Donald Trump’s tweet about having a bigger nuclear button than North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s has kept Kim “on his toes” and makes clear the risks of a nuclear standoff, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Sunday.

After Kim asserted that he had a nuclear button at the ready, Trump last week dismissed the taunt by saying in a tweet that the US button at his disposal was bigger and more powerful.

The comment drew criticism, including from former Vice President Joe Biden, who said it caused allies to lose confidence in Washington.

Asked on the ABC program “This Week” whether the president’s tweet was a good idea, Haley said: “I think that (Trump) always has to keep Kim on his toes. It’s very important that we don’t ever let him get so arrogant that he doesn’t realize the reality of what would happen if he started a nuclear war.”

Haley said North Korea should be clear that the United States will not reduce pressure on Kim.

“We’re not going to let them go and dramatise the fact that they have a button right on their desk and they can destroy America,” she said. “We want to always remind them we can destroy you too, so be very cautious and careful with your words and what you do.”
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Stop this tweeting, it's childish: Former VP Joe Biden blasts Donald Trump

Former US Vice President Joe Biden strongly criticised President Trump today, and predicted an emboldened and determined Russia would once again meddle in an American election.

In public comments at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Biden — the target of speculation of a possible presidential run in 2020 — thoroughly rebuked Trump and his policies.

"We've got to stop this tweeting... it's childish," he said. "It's time to grow up and act like a world leader."

Biden, Barack Obama's former vice president, has made international politics a key area of focus since leaving office.

He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of seeking to mask problems at home by "stoking discord" in European countries and the United States.

"Russia's attack on our election was not an isolated incident," Biden said.

"The efforts to spew disinformation, infiltrate our networks, corrupt our political institutions, they continue. And, we'll surely see this kick into full gear as we head into another critical Congressional election cycle in 2018."

Biden also criticised Trump for not taking a more forceful stand against Russian meddling and said his international policies in general -- such as withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership — threatened America's alliances.
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Trump warns McCain after his speech on 'half-baked' American foreign policy

President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a warning shot after Republican Senator John McCain questioned "half-baked, spurious nationalism" in America's foreign policy.

Trump said in a radio interview with WMAL in Washington that "people have to be careful because at some point I fight back." The president added "I'm being very, very nice but at some point I fight back and it won't be pretty."

McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent 5 years in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp and is battling brain cancer, offered a simple response to Trump: "I have faced tougher adversaries."

In Philadelphia last night, the six-term Republican senator from Arizona received an award for a lifetime of service and sacrifice to the country.

In addition to recalling his more than two decades of military service and his imprisonment during the war, McCain took a moment to go a step further than the night's other speakers, who lamented what many described as a fractured political climate.
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