Why are Senate Democrats criticizing Donald Trump over South Korea military drills?

They say reducing the joint exercises weakens the alliance with South Korea and sends the wrong signal to North Korea. Democrats argued that Kim Jong-un has given up nothing while continuing to support Russia in the war against Ukraine.

What did Donald Trump say about scaling back South Korea-U.S. military exercises?

Trump said he instructed the Pentagon to substantially reduce the drills and linked the decision to his very good relationship with Kim Jong-un. He also said he was frustrated with South Korea after it rejected his request for assistance in the U.S. war against Iran.

What concerns did lawmakers raise about Trump’s push for renewed summitry with Kim Jong-un?

They warned that the move could undermine deterrence against growing North Korean threats and damage U.S. credibility abroad. Schumer, Van Hollen, and Duckworth each said Trump was giving Kim too much without securing any meaningful return.

Democrats step up offensive over Trump's reduction of drills with S. Korea, push for summitry with Kim

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Summary

Democratic lawmakers stepped up criticism in Washington on Friday after President Donald Trump ordered a reduction in South Korea-U.S. military drills while pushing for renewed summitry with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Senate Democrats said the move undermined the alliance with South Korea, and several senators accused Trump of giving ground to Kim with nothing in return. Trump said he wanted to substantially reduce the drills and cited his relationship with Kim and frustration with South Korea. The move raised concerns that deterrence against North Korea could be weakened.

Key Facts

Senate Democrats said Trump canceled military exercises and undermined the alliance with South Korea.
Chuck Schumer said Kim Yo-jong dismissed Trump’s overture and called it of no interest to Pyongyang.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen accused Trump of cozying up to dictators and said he was undermining U.S. credibility.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth said she had visited South Korea last year and reaffirmed the importance of joint exercises to keep troops ready and allies secure.

By Yonhap

Published Aug 22, 2026 8:35 am KST

The American flag waves from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 1. Reuters-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers stepped up their offensive against U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, after he ordered the scaling back of military exercises with South Korea while pushing for renewed summitry with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this year.

In an X post on Friday, Senate Democrats criticized Trump's decision on the allied military drills, voicing concerns over its impact on the Seoul-Washington alliance.

"Trump canceled military exercises, undermined alliance with South Korea," the Democrats said in the post. "Kim Jong-un gave up NOTHING. Then kept sending weapons to Russia to use against Ukraine."

In his social media post, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that "not even Donald Trump's self-proclaimed close friend Kim Jong-un respects him anymore," as he cited a New York Times report that Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, has dismissed Trump's decision to scale back major allied exercises, saying the attempted overture "holds no interest for us."

"The latest example of Trump embarrassing our nation on the world stage", Schumer said.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) accused Trump of "cozying up to dictators."

"Once again, Trump is cozying up to dictators -- rolling over for Kim Jong-un and getting nothing in return," he wrote on X. "He's undermining our credibility throughout the world and making us all less safe."

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has also criticized Trump, posing the question: "When will Trump stop embracing dictators and alienating our allies?"

"When I visited South Korea last year, we reaffirmed the importance of joint exercises to keep our troops ready and our allies secure," she wrote on X earlier this week. "Gutting them to appease nuclear-armed Kim Jong-un is a grave mistake."

In a social media post on Sunday, Trump revealed that he had ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" South Korea-U.S. military drills, citing his "very good" relationship with Kim while expressing frustration with South Korea, which he said had rejected his request for assistance in the U.S. war against Iran.

Trump's decision to scale back allied drills was seen as a conciliatory gesture to Pyongyang which has long decried them as rehearsals for war. But the move has raised concerns that it could undermine efforts to sharpen deterrence against growing North Korean threats.

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