Trump obsessed with sending CD of Elton John's 'Rocket Man' to Kim Jong-un, ex-aide Bolton claims

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Donald Trump was reportedly obsessed with sending a CD of the song Rocket Man, signed by Elton John himself, to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to a new book that the White House is trying to block.

Former US national security adviser John Bolton makes the claims of Mr Trump "inordinate interest" in his upcoming book The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir.

While the White House has sued to stop the publication of the book, The Washington Post obtained a pre-publication version of the tome, which says Mr Trump wanted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to hand over the CD to the North Korean dictator in 2018.

Calling Kim "Little Rocket Man" was one of Mr Trump's favoured insults during a time when the two exchanged threats over North Korea's nuclear programme.

A summit on denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula was held in Singapore in June 2018, and Mr Trump wanted Mr Pompeo to deliver the CD during a trip to North Korea in October of that year in an apparent attempt to convince Kim that "Little Rocket Man" was a term of affection meant as a compliment rather than an insult.

"Trump didn't seem to realise Pompeo hadn't actually seen Kim Jong Un [during the trip], asking if Pompeo had handed" the CD, writes Mr Bolton. "Pompeo had not. Getting this CD to Kim remained a high priority for several months."

Mr Trump was reportedly determined to make friends with the North Korean leader, and his desire to give gifts like the Elton John CD violated US sanctions that eventually had to be waived.

Mr Bolton said that Mr Trump cared little for the details of the denuclearisation effort, and that he saw the Singapore summit as merely "an exercise in publicity".

"Trump told . . . me he was prepared to sign a substance-free communique, have his press conference to declare victory and then get out of town," Mr Bolton wrote.