As reported in The Hill, the State Department denies North Korea leader Kim Jong-un was given a copy of Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” signed by the president.
Contrary to a report from a South Korean media outlet, Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the State Department said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not gift the CD to Kim. Nauert did say that a letter was delivered to Kim from Trump. The letter came after statements made from Pyongyang accusing U.S. officials of using “gangster-like-tactics” during the discussions. The negotiations are a result of the summit that took place last month between Trump and Kim when both signed an agreement regarding denuclearization. Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang to ascertain the progress of the agreement. In a statement made to reporters concerning the negotiations, Pompeo said, “These are complicated issues, but we made progress on almost all the central issues. Some places, a great deal of progress, other places, there’s still more work to be done. “
The significance of Elton John’s hit “Rocket Man” relates to Trump’s first United Nations Assembly address as he spoke of a potential nuclear threat posed by North Korea and referred to Kim as Rocket Man. Trump addressed this issue by stating, “The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.”
“Rocket Man” appeared on Elton John’s 1972 album, Honky Chateau. Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics and gave them to Elton who wrote the music for the song. The inspiration for the song was a short story about an astronaut written by Ray Bradbury. Last summer it was announced that biopic, is in the works from director Dexter Fletcher about Elton John’s life and career, titled Rocketman.
In 2016, John quashed rumors the he would perform at Trumps inauguration. According to Mashable he was not pleased with Trump’s use of his music during the campaign saying,”I don’t really want my music to be involved in anything to do with an American election campaign.”
UPDATE (7/10): According to Rolling Stone, Donald Trump did have a copy of Elton John’s hit song “Rocket Man” he intended to give to Kim Jung-un, but it was not delivered. During a previous conversation between the two leaders, Trump learned Kim had never heard the song before (rocket man is the nickname the president gave to Kim). Rolling Stone writes that Trump told reporters he planned on having Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, deliver it during his visit with the North Korean dictator last week. Trump says he still has plans to deliver the CD to Kim, but it will be at a later date.
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