Hans Britsch, a patron at Duffy's Irish Pub, watches the testimony of Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap

Kim splits screen time

By Jane Han

SEATTLE ― All eyes in Korea are fixated on the follow-up summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Here in the U.S., all eyes are split between two scenes on TV: one showing Trump shaking hands with Kim in Vietnam, and the other airing Trump's longtime lawyer Michael Cohen delivering a blockbuster congressional testimony against his former boss.

And as dramatic as the timing of the two events is, many Americans seem to be far more interested in the Trump-Cohen saga than their president's diplomacy halfway across the globe.

"Summit? What summit?" said Debbie Moss, 28, a graduate student at the University of Washington, while watching live coverage of the Michael Cohen hearing midday Wednesday at a coffee shop in the suburbs of Seattle.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: Patrons at Duffys Irish Pub view congressional testimony by U.S. President Donald Trumps former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, during a watch party February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. During the hearing, the bar offered patrons an option to purchase a special drink called the "Flipper Cocktail," the contents of which "are redacted." AFP-Yonhap

"I'm busy catching up with all the latest on Cohen. Plus with all this going on, the summit with North Korea really doesn't seem relevant anymore."

Lynn Tran, 42, who owns a nail salon in the area, had the TV on all day for her customers who wanted to see real-time news.

"No one seemed to care about the meeting between Trump and the North Korean leader," she said. "People were wanting to watch every minute of the Cohen hearing, not the two big guys shaking hands."

In a public testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Cohen, the U.S. president's former personal attorney and fixer, said Trump is a "racist," "con man" and a "cheat." He reveled a series of shocking allegations centering Trump's past and present that experts say could pose a threat to his presidency.

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. AP-Yonhap

The hearing has been highly anticipated with major news outlets such as CNN introducing a countdown clock in the hours running up to the hearing.

Many experts expected the explosive political event would largely overshadow the two-day Hanoi summit between Trump and Kim, who set out to seek a breakthrough in denuclearization.

And it did.

Jeanette, 43, a teacher who didn't want to be fully named, said "I followed the news during the last summit, but my interest fizzled this time since it may be all talk again with not much follow through yet again. And then of course there's the Cohen news."

Reactions were similar online and on social media.

Republican Congressman Kelly Armstrong (L) and Mark Green (R) listen to Michael Cohen (not pictured), former attorney to US President Donald J. Trump, testify before the House Oversight Committee in Washington, DC, USA, 27 February 2019. EPA-Yonhap

"What timing. Cohen completely stole the show," one user wrote on a Facebook news page.

Some expressed resentment at Trump cozying up to a dictator.

"It disgusts me to see our flag intermingled with the flag of a dictatorship," another user wrote. "They're best friends now?"

Meanwhile, there were others who said the situation is unfair for Trump.

"Exactly what was intended," a user wrote. "An orchestrated circus designed to coincide with the summit to distract people from the possible great things Trump may accomplish."

Another person wrote, "Regardless of what's going on at home, Trump is the only U.S. leader who made it this far with a North Korean leader. That credit should be given."