US Governor: "Trump said 'He doesn't like dealing with Moon... Koreans are terrible'"

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Reveals Trump Remarks
Comparison of COVID-19 Response Support Between Trump and Maryland, Korea

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and his wife are posing in front of a Korean Air aircraft that delivered COVID-19 test kits. [Screenshot from Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland's Twitter] [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Larry Hogan, the governor of Maryland and known as the 'Korean son-in-law,' revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump expressed that he did not like dealing with President Moon Jae-in in February and described the Korean people as terrible people.

On the 16th (local time), Governor Hogan wrote in an op-ed titled "Fighting Alone" published in the Washington Post (WP) that President Trump said during a dinner speech on February 7, "He really did not like dealing with President Moon. He said the Koreans are terrible people."

Governor Hogan added, "He (Trump) said he did not understand why the U.S. had been protecting them (Koreans) all this time. President Trump complained, 'They don't pay us money.'"

The dinner took place at a time when the U.S. was pressuring South Korea by threatening unpaid leave for Korean workers at U.S. Forces Korea amid delays in the defense cost-sharing agreement. Although President Trump did not mention Korea in his State of the Union address three days before the dinner, he emphasized fair sharing of defense costs.

In his dinner speech, President Trump also talked about how much he respects Chinese President Xi Jinping, how much he enjoys golfing with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and how well he gets along with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un. However, Governor Hogan pointed out that he does not recall Trump mentioning the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Governor Hogan noticed that his Korean wife, Yumi Hogan, who attended the dinner with him, was hurt and upset, saying, "My wife sat politely and quietly."

Through this op-ed, he questioned whether President Trump had helped Maryland expand COVID-19 testing.

Although both President Trump and Governor Hogan are from the Republican Party, President Trump had previously criticized Governor Hogan for bringing COVID-19 test kits from Korea.

Governor Hogan compared President Trump's response to COVID-19 with Korea's support. The op-ed began with his experience of going to welcome the test kits brought from Korea together with his wife. He also introduced that he and his wife requested test kit support from President Moon Jae-in.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.