He started by joking that he didn't want any questions "about Trump" -- but by the time Rep. Larry Bucshon left Tropicana Tuesday, he was singing the president's praises.

The 8th District Republican congressman told a Rotary Club of Evansville luncheon that he had only seen excerpts of President Donald Trump's United Nations speech earlier in the day. But Trump did not sugarcoat the seriousness of the North Korean threat, he said.

"No one wants to have an armed conflict, but on the other hand, I think this is a substantial national security challenge. It's not just a talking point. It's not just something for political parties to argue about," Bucshon said. "This is a substantial challenge that we have to take seriously."

In his first speech before the U.N., Trump said North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's development of a nuclear arsenal and ballistic missiles may leave the U.S. with no choice but to "totally destroy" the peninsula nation. He urged the U.N. to exert pressure on North Korea to denuclearize.

North Korea has launched several tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. resolutions, tested a hydrogen bomb and threatened to attack the U.S. territory of Guam in the South Pacific. Trump's administration has pressed China to lean on North Korea and has worked for new U.N. sanctions -- but those measures have not changed North Korea’s behavior.

After his remarks before the Rotary Club, Bucshon said fellow Republican Trump seems to be growing into the job after a rocky start. He said the president is doing a better job of avoiding social media feuds and resisting the impulse to mix it up with news reporters he believes are biased against him.

"I think he's leveling out. I think the president is starting to focus more on policy and more on national security," Bucshon said. "Really, what I would say is not let the extraneous things that are happening around him as it relates to the media and personal things -- not taking the criticism so personally.

"I think he's doing tremendously better than in the early months of his presidency, and I hope that trend continues."

Bucshon didn't talk politics Tuesday, but he will seek his fifth two-year term in next year's mid-term elections. At least for now, national political handicappers believe his seat will stay in Republican hands.

Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of Washington, D.C.-based Inside Elections, said his organization rates the 8th District "Solid Republican" for 2018 -- although that assessment can easily change if Bucshon's political standing suffers.

"The Democrats are casting a wide net for opportunities," Gonzales said. "They're trying to put over 80 (congressional) districts in play across the country -- but you still don't see Indiana's 8th District popping up on their targets list.

"If Democrats win Indiana's 8th District, it's a historic landslide nationwide for Democrats."

But Bucshon could make a highly visible mistake, or Democrats could field a heavyweight candidate with deep pockets and rock star appeal. Nothing is guaranteed for the veteran Republican congressman, who must successfully navigate a GOP primary election before he can face any Democrat.

"These ratings are living organisms," Gonzales said with a laugh.






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