President Donald Trump suggested in the Oval Office that a “pretty Korean” analyst’s ethnicity should qualify her for negotiating with North Korea on behalf of the United States, NBC News reported Friday.
The woman, an intelligence analyst who had visited the White House to brief Trump on an impending hostage situation in Pakistan, was asked where “your people” were from by the president after multiple attempts to learn her ethnicity, sources told NBC.
After the woman answered that her parents are Korean, Trump reportedly suggested to another advisor in the room that the “pretty Korean lady” should be negotiating with North Korea.
The story comes amid reports that the president referred to some developing nations as “s—hole countries” in an immigration meeting with key senators.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, NBC News said.