Trump: "President Moon was the happiest about my election loss"... Mentioned Defense Cost

"South Korea Should Have Paid $5 Billion Annually for Defense Costs"

President Moon Jae-in and former U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Former U.S. President Donald Trump named President Moon Jae-in as one of the happiest people after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

On the 5th (local time), The Guardian cited the current affairs magazine The Atlantic, reporting that "Former President Trump said that after I failed to be re-elected, President Moon Jae-in became one of the happiest leaders in the world."

In the interview, former President Trump said, "President Moon was probably the happiest person about my losing the election," adding, "If I were to rank, China, no, Iran would have been the happiest." He explained the reason as "because I was the one who demanded a significant increase in South Korea's defense cost-sharing."

At the time, former President Trump pressured the South Korean government to raise the annual defense cost-sharing for the U.S. Forces Korea to $5 billion (about 6 trillion won), more than five times the previous amount. Describing the situation, Trump said he demanded that the now wealthy South Korea "pay more money," but President Moon kept resisting, saying no.

He also claimed that although a tentative agreement was reached in the historic deal with the South Korean government, it was nullified by President Joe Biden's election.

Former President Trump, who insists on rejecting the election results, maintained his stance in the interview by saying, "I did not win the election," but also, "It was a fraudulent election and a stolen election."

Meanwhile, the interview with former President Trump was conducted by Professor Julian Zelizer of Princeton University in a panel discussion format with historians.

Regarding this interview, Professor Zelizer evaluated, "President Trump seemed to want historians to accept him without understanding how historians collect and evaluate evidence."

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