Rock star Elton John said in a video for Variety that former President Trump’s nickname for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was “really funny.”
“When he did that, I just thought it was funny,” John said in a video posted Sunday, referencing Trump’s past references to the North Korean leader as “Rocket Man” or “Little Rocket Man.”
“That made me laugh,” John continued.
The former president has had a complicated relationship with Kim in recent years, calling him a “crazy guy” during a 2015 GOP debate and telling journalist Bob Woodward in a 2022 audiobook that they had “good chemistry.”
“Donald has always been a fan of mine, and he’s been to a lot of my concerts,” John said in the Variety video. “So,[I’ve]always been nice to him… I appreciate his support.”
John performed at the White House in September 2022 and received the National Humanities Medal from Biden. In the Variety interview, he did not explicitly take sides in the upcoming election, but pointed to former Vice President Dick Cheney’s warnings about Trump.
“America is in a very precarious situation right now, and I’m very grateful to the country that I love, that I always have, and that made me who I am,” he said.
“So I just hope people vote for what’s fair, what’s important to people, which is the right to choose, the right to be who you are, and not let anybody tell you who you should be. And that goes all the way to the Supreme Court.”
Trump used the nickname “Rocket Man” to criticize Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on a podcast last April.
“You should call him Rocket Man, but he’s a falling Rocket Man,” Trump said of DeSantis. “His polls are terrible. I’m ahead of him in every state.”
Trump’s comments came before DeSantis launched his presidential campaign, which he failed to defeat the former president. He dropped out of the GOP primary in January and has since endorsed Trump.
