Dennis Rodman Offers Help as Trump Prepares for Kim Meeting

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump has got the support of former NBA star and “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant Dennis Rodman as he prepares for a high-stakes meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Rodman is “behind the president 100 percent,” a spokesman, Christopher Volo, said in an email. “We believe talks with Regime will do great things for both nations.”

Rodman has traveled to North Korea repeatedly and likely has met the reclusive dictator more than any other American. Volo said that Kim asked Rodman about Trump before he announced his candidacy for president and “he had a lot of respect for the future president at the time.”

“Dennis believes President Trump is the perfect leader to help us with the DPRK conflict we would both love to go back to the DPRK and help in anyway possible,” Volo said.

As with many B-list celebrities, Trump intersected with Rodman through his NBC television franchise, “The Apprentice.”

Rodman competed on the sixth season of “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2013 and was fired in the sixth episode in part for misspelling the name of Trump’s wife, Melania, in an advertisement.

Rodman told Business Insider in 2014 that Trump had asked to accompany him on a trip to North Korea. Trump denied it on Twitter.

“Crazy Dennis Rodman is saying I wanted to go to North Korea with him. Never discussed, no interest, last place on Earth I want to go to,” Trump said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Margaret Talev in Washington at mtalev@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu

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