Donald Trump on North Korea: ‘I Was Handed a Mess’

President Donald Trump blamed previous White House administrations for failing to effectively deal with the issue of North Korea, describing the situation as a “total mess,” in an interview Saturday.

“For almost 30 years, through numerous administrations, if you look at President Clinton, paid billions of dollars, gave them billions more,” Trump said on the Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Huckabee, according to South Korean outlet Yonhap.

Trump then went on to cite the 1994 plutonium deal signed by Bill Clinton, which collapsed in 2003 after the U.S. accused North Korea of developing nuclear weapons, as a strategic error.

“The day after the agreement was done, he was, meaning his father, because it’s the same thing over many years, same attitude. I think this one’s the worst of the group, but they started doing what they were doing,” Trump said in reference to the former North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il and his son and current leader Kim Jong-un.

“This should have been handled 25 years ago, it should have been handled 10 years ago. It should have been handled during the Obama administration,” he added. “I was handed a mess, not only there, I was handed a mess in the Middle East. Just a total mess.”

Whilst meeting with military leaders last week, Trump hinted that we might be experiencing a “calm before the storm,” which many believe is a reference to escalating tensions in North Korea.

Amid growing threats from North Korea and repeated missile tests, Trump has previously warned that continued threats against the United States will lead to the “total destruction” of North Korea.

“The U.S. has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” Trump warned in his speech. “Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime.“The U.S. is ready, willing, and able, but hopefully, this will not be necessary.”

In his attempts to solve the crisis, Trump has repeatedly called on the Chinese government to exert power over North Korea and even threatened to cut off all trade with China unless they do more to help the United States.

On Friday, Trump told reporters that they would soon “find out” what that statement meant.

Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.