While North Korea's Foreign Ministry released a statement early Saturday calling President of the United States Donald Trump "an old lunatic" and said this justifies "building up our nuclear force," it's clear that Trump thinks the "old lunatic" insult came directly from Kim Jong-un's mouth.

Here’s what the president tweeted in response to the “old lunatic” dismissal:

“Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat?’ Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!” he said.

Trump took the “far be it from me to call anyone short and fat, but…” approach, bringing this schoolyard war-of-words between two world leaders to new heights.

The president made headlines Monday when he declared the United States’ policy of “strategic patience” on North Korea “over.” Trump made the comments during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.

“The era of strategic patience is over,” Trump said in regards to his position on North Korea. “Some people said that my rhetoric is very strong, but look what’s happened with very weak rhetoric over the last 25 years. Look where we are now.”

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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney — pictured during a hearing Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 — has cleared the way for Georgia's State Election Board to obtain Fulton ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

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