President Donald Trump may sometimes be politically incorrect, even vulgar, but his willingness to speak his mind without restraint helped push North Korea to talk with the U.S. about its nuclear missiles program, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told CNBC on Monday.
Trump's personality may be "a little different," he said. "But I've watched those personalities in the past, who said all the right things, and North Korea still developed nuclear weapons."
"So, maybe that helped make us stop them," McCarthy said.
There is no evidence that North Korea has ceased its nuclear-weapons program.
During an appearance on "Squawk Box," McCarthy, R-Calif., was responding to a question about Trump calling NBC's Chuck Todd a "son of a bitch" at a weekend rally.
McCarthy said nobody should be surprised because Trump is displaying behavior no different from the way he acted during the 2016 presidential election.
"The American public knew this going in," he added. "That's what the American public voted for."
"Maybe I don't want my children to hear those words," McCarthy said. "But I definitely don't want my children to see any missiles from North Korea coming here."
On Thursday, Trump accepted an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to talk about the rogue nation's nuclear program.
The president appeared optimistic about the talks, saying on Twitter that "sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached."
However, some U.S. intelligence officials are skeptical of North Korea's offer.