--- description: Former NBA standout Dennis Rodman has arrived in Singapore to support his "friends," President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. title: Dennis Rodman Came to the Trump-Kim Summit for More 'Basketball Diplomacy' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt762947f4e626d92b/6988d18f196cf4474504094b/rts16x8f.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [North Korea](/tag/north-korea/) ## North Korea Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Dennis Rodman Came to the Trump-Kim Summit for More 'Basketball Diplomacy'  by [Abby Vesoulis](/author/abby-vesoulis/)  ## Abby Vesoulis Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 11, 2018 5:48 PM CUT  Former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport as he leaves for North Korea's Pyongyang, in Beijing, China, June 13, 2017. Former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport as he leaves for North Korea's Pyongyang, in Beijing, China, June 13, 2017.Jason Lee—Reuters  by [Abby Vesoulis](/author/abby-vesoulis/)  ## Abby Vesoulis Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 11, 2018 5:48 PM CUT Former NBA standout Dennis Rodman has arrived in Singapore to support his “friends,” President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at a summit on Tuesday. Rodman tweeted last week that his flight would be covered in part by PotCoin, a digital currency used by the marijuana industry. > [](https://twitter.com/dennisrodman/status/1005094659427880960) Trump said Thursday that the basketball star was not invited to attend the actual summit. “I like him. He’s a nice guy. No, he was not invited,” Trump [told the media](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-prime-minister-abe-japan-bilateral-meeting-3/ "undefined") during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In a recent Instagram [post](https://www.instagram.com/p/BjxQ3NsFVWk/?hl=en&taken-by=dennisrodman "undefined"), Rodman shared a photo of himself posing with Trump, calling the president “one of the best negotiators of all time.” In [another post](https://www.instagram.com/p/BjzNLkTFihk/?hl=en&taken-by=dennisrodman "undefined"), Rodman is pictured gifting Trump’s “Art of the Deal” book to North Korea’s minister of physical culture and sports, Kim Il Guk. Rodman has visited Kim in North Korea [at least four times](http://time.com/4815965/dennis-rodman-north-korea-kim-jong-un-nba-basketball/ "undefined") and is one of few people who have met both leaders. Still, he maintains he is not a diplomat. “Well, that’s not my purpose right now,” Rodman [told reporters](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2018/03/09/dennis-rodman-praises-trumps-plan-to-meet-with-kim-please-send-my-regards/?utm%5Fterm=.629340c5ec61 "undefined") in June of 2017\. “My purpose is to go over there and try to see if I can keep bringing sports to North Korea.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5308548/north-korea-summit-dennis-rodman/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5308548/north-korea-summit-dennis-rodman/"},"headline":"Dennis Rodman Came to the Trump-Kim Summit for More 'Basketball Diplomacy'","datePublished":"2018-06-11T17:48:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:32:11.975Z","description":"Former NBA standout Dennis Rodman has arrived in Singapore to support his \"friends,\" President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.","url":"https://time.com/5308548/north-korea-summit-dennis-rodman/","keywords":["North Korea","Kim Jong Un","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt762947f4e626d92b/6988d18f196cf4474504094b/rts16x8f.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abby Vesoulis","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt762947f4e626d92b/6988d18f196cf4474504094b/rts16x8f.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport as he leaves for North Korea's Pyongyang in Beijing","caption":"Former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport as he leaves for North Korea's Pyongyang in Beijing","creditText":"Jason Lee—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/north-korea/","name":"North Korea"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5308548/north-korea-summit-dennis-rodman/","name":"Dennis Rodman Came to the Trump-Kim Summit for More 'Basketball Diplomacy'"}}]}] ```