(Removes incorrect reference to Southeastern Oklahoma State University as site of Trump rally and edits reference to Rodman’s connection to Durant in paragraph 2)
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By Bo Erickson
DENTON, Texas, Oct 1 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump has talked a lot about wanting to meet Kim Jong Un again but so far his entreaties to the North Korean leader have gone unanswered. Can former NBA star Dennis Rodman help prompt a rebound in their relationship?
Rodman was in Trump’s entourage on Thursday as the president spoke at a truck factory in Denton, Texas, before heading to a campaign rally in Durant, Oklahoma. No reason was given for Rodman’s presence, but he has a local connection through his days playing college basketball in Durant.
The inclusion of Rodman in Trump’s traveling party comes as the president tries to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Kim, and Rodman is known to be friendly with the head of the nuclear-armed nation.
“When I wanted to get to know Kim Jong Un when we’re having a problem — Kim Jong Un and I get along — but the one who knew him best was Dennis Rodman,” Trump told workers at the Peterbilt factory in Denton.
Nearby sat Rodman on the back of a semi-truck. The basketball hall-of-famer wore a black Chicago Bulls hat, studded black jeans, and a shirt depicting himself lifting a trophy.
As Rodman subsequently hopped into the presidential motorcade for the ride north to Oklahoma, he told Reuters that he hoped to speak with Trump about “life.”
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Asked if he was going to North Korea any time soon, the basketball legend responded: “If you buy the ticket.”
In his first term, Trump had three high-profile meetings with Kim, including a visit to the Korean Demilitarized Zone, but has not staged a similar event since returning to the presidency.
Trump has called Kim a friend that he can work with, despite North Korea’s belligerent rhetoric and embrace of nuclear arms.
The president is scheduled to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next month in China, and could theoretically add a meeting with Kim as part of that trip.
“He likes Trump, doesn’t like a lot of other people,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday at the White House. “I’m about the only person in the entire world that he likes, and I like him.”
(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Steve Holland; Editing by Sergio Non and Lincoln Feast.)
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