Trump calls Warmbier’s death a ‘total disgrace’

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the death of a 22-year-old college student who was detained for nearly a year and a half in North Korea is a “total disgrace.”

The president said if Otto Warmbier had been returned home to the U.S. earlier, “I think the result would have been a lot different.”

Trump spoke briefly about Warmbier during an Oval Office meeting with the president of Ukraine.

Trump said he spoke with Warmbier’s parents and says it’s “incredible what they’ve gone through.”

Trump added, “he should have been brought home a long time ago.”

The college student died shortly after his return to Ohio after being held for more than 17 months.

Warmbier’s parents haven’t cited a cause of death, but “awful, torturous mistreatment” by North Korea.