During my teaching experience, I still remember an issue with two fifth-graders – they “hated” each other, called each other names, and wished they were not in the same room. Simply said – they were a pain in my neck. Nevertheless, during breaks, they always whispered something secretly and played games together. Later, I found that, even though they “detested” each other, they also had friendly banter on Viber.
These days their relationship reminds me of the one between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. And even though the game they are playing is far from innocent, there are moments of relief. Their recent vocabulary battle is quite amusing. Let's see who started it and who said what.
Trump's Rocket Man
Donald Trump is a self-centered 70-year-old and the first reality TV show president, but he has a knack for playing with words. All you have to do is follow him on Twitter and you will be impressed. Perhaps you remember “covfefe”? The list of his gems is endless.
His verbal war with Kim has been going on ever since he took office.
On the 17 September, however, the US President took it to a whole new level. In a tweet, he called the North Korean leader a “Rocket Man,” mocking him because of the latter's obsession with missiles and all sorts of nukes. Later, in a UN speech, Trump used the newly created nickname. This caused an ocean of pride and indignation, depending on the side.
'The Empire Strikes Back'
I expected it would become as epic as Star Wars; The Empire always strikes back. Apparently, North Korea couldn't swallow this insult defiling their divine leader Kim Jon-un. In an official press release (the English translation, Kim Jong-un as a real patriot always writes in Korean), President Trump was described as a “dotard.” This word is yet another reason to read Shakespeare since he has used it several times.
To many, it meant nothing. But Meriam Webster, in a tweet, was kind enough to educate us all. According to the dictionary, a “dotard” is someone "in his or her dotage," where dotage is "a state or period of senile decay marked by decline of mental poise and alertness." Incredible. Another wave of pride and indignation.
Real politician and leaders would sit down and sort things out, their differences and enmity notwithstanding. Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un should act the part and stop behaving like petulant kids who “hate” each other but always go hand in hand to play on the playground.