--- title: President Trump's War of Words description: President Trump addressed reporters Thursday, escalating his rhetoric in response to North Korea's threats against the United States. canonical: https://time.com/4896819/president-trumps-war-of-words/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-11T19:55:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:57:15.779Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump's War of Words og:description: President Trump addressed reporters Thursday, escalating his rhetoric in response to North Korea's threats against the United States. og:url: https://time.com/4896819/president-trumps-war-of-words/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump's War of Words twitter:description: President Trump addressed reporters Thursday, escalating his rhetoric in response to North Korea's threats against the United States. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump's War of Words by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Aug 11, 2017 7:55 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Aug 11, 2017 7:55 PM UTC President Trump addressed reporters Thursday from his golf course in New Jersey where he is vacationing, escalating his rhetoric in response to North Korea’s threats against the U.S. But the increasingly dire language is not matched by changes to military posture, whether it be the deployment of additional American forces or the evacuation of thousands of military dependents on the peninsula. Trump also announced his intent to declare a national emergency to respond to the opioid crisis, and thanked Vladimir Putin for reducing the headcount at U.S. diplomatic posts in Russia. Bannon’s tough spot. The memo that blew up the National Security Council. And Kushner is fined. _Here are your must reads:_ **Must Reads** [North Korea Tensions Show the Disconnect Between Trump’s Words and Administration’s Actions ](http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-north-korea-20170810-story.html?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=newsletter%5Faxiosam&stream=top-stories)Rhetorical but not actual escalation \[LA Times\] [Breitbart’s War on McMaster Bites Bannon ](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/11/breitbart-war-on-mcmaster-bites-bannon-241517)The chief White House strategist is increasingly isolated in the West Wing [Trump Thanks Putin for Expelling U.S. Diplomats, Infuriating State Department ](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/10/trump-thanks-vladimir-putin-diplomats-241498)Dismay among the diplomatic corps \[Politico\] [President Trump Just Declared a National Emergency Over the Opioid Epidemic ](http://time.com/4896141/president-trump-opioid-national-emergency/)Formal declaration coming soon \[Reuters\] **Sound Off** “Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!” — President Trump on Twitter Friday “Maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough.” — Trump on his ‘fire and fury’ warning to North Korea **Bits and Bites** [Here’s the Memo That Blew Up the NSC ](http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/10/heres-the-memo-that-blew-up-the-nsc/) \[Foreign Policy\] [Congressional investigators want to question Trump’s longtime secretary, Rhona Graff, in Russia probe](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-longtime-secretary-scrutinized-russia-investigators/story?id=49146540&utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=newsletter%5Faxiosam&stream=top-stories) \[ABC\] [Transgender Soldiers Are Suing President Trump Over His Proposal to Ban Them From the Military](http://time.com/4894845/donald-trump-transgender-military-ban-lawsuit/) \[TIME\] [U.S. and North Korea Have Been Talking Quietly for Months: Report](http://time.com/4897245/trump-administration-north-korea-secret-talks/) \[Associated Press\] [Susan Rice Says Pre-Emptive War With North Korea Would Be ‘Catastrophic’](http://time.com/4896643/susan-rice-north-korea-catastrophic/) \[TIME\] [Sean Spicer Wants to Do ‘Saturday Night Live’](http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/sean-spicer-wants-to-do-saturday-night-live-w496966) \[US Weekly\] [Kushner fined for late financial report](http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article166560102.html) \[McClatchy\] [‘When you put this guy in a cage and think you’re controlling him, things like this happen’](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/when-you-put-this-guy-in-a-cage-and-think-youre-controlling-him-things-like-this-happen/2017/08/10/9c3e4fa8-7dee-11e7-83c7-5bd5460f0d7e%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.4e6db84c5729) \[Washington Post\] President Trump's War of Words ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4896819/president-trumps-war-of-words/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4896819/president-trumps-war-of-words/"},"headline":"President Trump's War of Words","datePublished":"2017-08-11T19:55:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:57:15.779Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: August 11","url":"https://time.com/4896819/president-trumps-war-of-words/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","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":"https://time.com/4896819/president-trumps-war-of-words/","name":"President Trump's War of Words"}}]}] ```