Former NBA star Dennis Rodman has arrived in Singapore, hours before President Donald Trump is set to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time.
Rodman emerged from the baggage claim area at Changi airport around midnight Monday. He told reporters he wasn’t sure if he would meet Kim in Singapore.
Last week, Rodman said he would “give whatever support is needed” to his “friends” Trump and Kim.
On arrival, he tweeted, “Just arrived to Singapore for the Historical Summit! Looking forward to @POTUS having incredible success that the whole world will benefit by.”
White House officials have said Rodman will play no official role in the diplomatic negotiations. Trump said last week that Rodman had not been invited to the summit.
Rodman previously appeared on President Trump’s TV show “Celebrity Apprentice.” He is one of the few westerners to have met the North Korean leader on visits to the capital city Pyongyang. Kim Jong Un is said to consider Rodman a friend.
Rodman’s trip is being sponsored by PotCoin, a cyber-currency that is aiming to become the standard form of payment for the legalized cannabis industry.
In noting the strangeness of Rodman’s presence and last week’s celebrity influence of a presidential pardon granted to a great-grandmother, New York Journalist Kurt Eichenwald tweeted, “Dennis Rodman involved in international relations, Kim Kardashian handling criminal justice reform, and a reality TV star as president. If this was a movie, it would be laughed away as too ridiculous to be believed.”