Dennis Rodman, the pierced and pugnacious former Chicago Bulls star, says he’s excited to hang out with his new best friend Kim Jong-Un when he heads back to Pyongyang this summer. Wearing a white fedora on his head and a drag queen on his arm, the athlete told the press about his plans during a charity gala at the Fontainebleu Hotel in Miami Beach. “I’m going back August 1,” he told a reporter from The Miami Herald. “We have no plans really, as far as what we’re going to do over there, but we’ll just hang and have some fun!”
This trip, it seems, will have more of a vacation vibe. Rodman’s first trip to North Korea introduced the world to the phrase “basketball diplomacy,” after the former rebounder accompanied a few Harlem Globetrotters players and some reporters from VICE back in February. The trip didn’t win Rodman many fans in the United States government, and Rodman told the Herald that after returning he’d been questioned by the FBI who wanted to know what Kim asked him about. Having fielded criticism on all sides for the very principle of taking the unsanctioned trip to North Korea with whom the United States has no diplomatic relations, Rodman spoke candidly about the political underpinnings of going on vacation in a country that’s trying to start a war.
“I’m not a total idiot,” said Rodman. “I know what Kim Jong-un is threatening to do regarding his military muscle. I hope it doesn’t happen because America will take whatever actions to protect America and our allies. I do think, umm, you know, that we have to talk to people who want to cause us harm so hopefully they won’t.” That doesn’t exactly make him sound like Roosevelt, but at least he’s thinking about these things.
Details of the trip remain unclear — he might not even make it out of the country given the heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. It’s also clear who might be joining him. Based on the reactions from his first trip, we think Donald Trump would make a decent choice. You know, just to make this whole thing even more absurd.