Trump says he hosted Otto Warmbier’s parents over weekend
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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he and first lady Melania Trump hosted family and friends of former hostage Otto Warmbier at the White House last weekend.
The president says 25 people were invited last Saturday to honour Warmbier. His parents say their son was tortured by North Korea after being convicted of trying to steal a propaganda poster and imprisoned for months. The 22-year-old suffered severe brain damage and died days after being returned to the U.S. in a vegetative state in 2017.
Trump says previous administrations should have tried to move faster to get him released. The president says that when it comes to getting hostages back home, the U.S. must move very quickly, and in the case of Warmbier, it was too late.
Warmbier’s parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier of suburban Cincinnati, were angered by Trump’s comments last spring that he took North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “at his word” that he was unaware of any mistreatment of their son. Trump later tweeted, “Of course I hold North Korea responsible for Otto’s mistreatment and death.” The tweet made no mention of Kim.
