Donald Trump dominated Kim Jong-un physically as the North Korean leader sounded wheezily unhealthy at their historic border meeting, Tucker Carlson says.
Carlson watched the notoriously heavy smoker speaking to Trump as Kim welcomed the US president into North Korea - the first ever to ever set foot in the secretive state.
Carlson said Kim 'was breathing like an emphysema patient,' as he watched the pair at the demilitarized zone and assessed that Kim was 'not a healthy guy.'
In contrast to Kim's 'self-contained' demeanor, Trump was buoyant as he walked over the border and patted Kim on the back, 'about as happy as I've ever seen him,' Carlson said.
'Kim struck me as - he's a hard character. there's no question about that - maybe a little off his game,' Carlson told Fox News. 'I don't think he's surrounded by people he doesn't control very often - wheezing like an emphysema patient, not a healthy guy.
'But, basically, he struck me as kind of self-contained. Trump was about as happy as I've ever seen him because it really is something that hasn't been done before and probably would not have been done without him, and his very different style of governing and thinking.'
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However, Carlson believed that the towering teetotal US President's stated admiration for the claret-quaffing Kim is genuine.
The Fox News anchor said: 'He's not an admirer of the atrocities committed obviously, but Trump thinks he's a competent scrappy guy ... and it can't be easy to hold on to third generational power in a country like that where the ruling class is filled with 80-year-old generals ... it takes a pretty hard man to keep a hold on power in a place like North Korea, so I think Trump respects his toughness.'
Carlson described the North as a 'disgusting place' but said it was important to recognize the reality Kim faces and that Trump had to make decisions about dealing with 'bad people and the worse people.'
Whether or not Carlson's claims about Kim's health are true is unknown, but the North Korean leader is rumored to have a penchant for Bordeaux, Scotch and Cognac.
He is also overweight and reportedly scoffs Danish pork, Iranian caviar and Kobe beef from Japan.
But in contrast to the West, a portly frame in North Korea is seen as a symbol of great status because most of the poor are enduring famine.
On his way to his last meeting with Trump in Hanoi in February, his private train came to a halt at a Chinese train platform so he could smoke a couple of cigarettes.
Carlson's interview with Trump will air tonight on Fox.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
