So, naturally, the G7 summit went swimmingly. And by “swimmingly, I mean, it was a total disaster that further isolated the United States from our closest global allies. Not only did Donald Trump continue to push unnecessary and ill thought out tariffs against our friends, but then he called the leader of Canada a liar publicly. He’s really taking this idea of “nationalism” to an uncomfortable level. It’s like he found out that the people of North Korea are told to worship Kim Jong Un as a god, and Trump asked his advisors how that happened and is following a road map: discredit the free press? Check. Isolate the country from the rest of the world? Check. Make friends with classically evil dictator figures? Double check. I wonder what Kim and Trump talk about over dinner?
Listen, I think it’s fair to give Trump some credit over this North Korea thing. Not even just because Trump has a bad habit of escalating problems. Frankly, even if Trump was a more laid back character, North Korea likes to be provocative in their own right. So the fact that the summit in Singapore seemingly went off without a hitch, and that some semblance of peace was established for the near future is positive. I won’t try to say that isn’t a victory. BUT, Trump and staff is trying to establish his summit as some unprecedented victory, as if North Korea has never made these promises before and for less. In fairness, I didn’t know until I bothered to look. But the reality is that North Korea has agreed to scrap their nuclear program no less than half a dozen times in almost 30 years, going as far back as when Kim Il Sung was still alive. In 1994, the they agreed to scrap the program and stop researching plutonium and uranium enrichment for food aid. Trump promised to stop our military maneuvers in South Korea, something we’ve done for 50 years, for a re-affirmation of their earlier promises from the last 30 years, with no time table or verfication process, things they’ve given in the past. Hell they didn’t even bother to promise to stop their Uranium program. In fact, by all appearances…the great negotiator got out negotiated. Again, I want to point out, the world feels a little less close to nuclear destruction than it did a week ago, and that’s a positive development. But that Trump secured a loose promise of Denuclearization…well, that feels less impressive.
One of the hosts of Fox and Friends called Donald Trump a dictator, and I could not be more tickled about it. Seriously, I’ve watched the clip like 4 times, and I laughed equally hard every time. The only big shame is that the camera wasn’t on Abby Huntsman or any of the other jackasses, including Anthony “the Mooch” Scaramucci, at the time, so I couldn’t see them look deer in headlines. That would have been television magic on par with the moon landing. Huntsman later went on to clarify that it was just a slip of the tongue in the moment on Live TV. I’d like to offer an alternative explanation: She said what she thought was true at the time and had to be corrected later. I can’t prove that, but I think we all know it’s the truth in our heart of hearts.
Donald Trump really wants the world to know that he deserves the Nobel Peace prize. And honestly, he’s got some people on board with that rhetoric, and not just his usual sycophants. Listen, I don’t feel like I know how much Trump’s input had in how things are shaking about between both Korean states, but at this point, I don’t know that it’s fair to say that anyone but the people involved really know. South Korea’s president wouldn’t object to Trump receiving the honor. But from my perspective, it seems like Trump’s rhetoric could’ve done more to provoke war than peace. And despite his insistence that any positive developments out of North Korea are entirely his fault, maybe, just maybe, the delegations from South Korea and Japan have also, perhaps, been involved in making some headway. I dunno. I mean, surely Trump isn’t a braggart who likes to bolster his own accomplishments and prop up weak or non-existent victories. Right? But at the end of the day, I’m just worried it sets a poor precedent if you give a Nobel Peace Prize to people who threaten Nuclear Armageddon.
So Trump called Kim Jong Un “honorable”, and…well let’s just say it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I mean, I kind of understand where Trump is coming from on this. He’s acknowledging that Kim has given the appearance of openness and open-mindedness preceding talks between world leaders, and that is not a bad thing, but to call him “honorable” feels like a total slap in the face to everyone who opposes him and to everyone under his tyrannical thumb. Seriously, North Korea is on the constant verge of starvation, citizens have very few rights, they’re encouraged to spy everyone around them, which no doubt makes trust impossible. They have gulags and re-education facilities that are basically torture factories, and at the tippy top of that pyramid is Kim Jong Un, a man who never had to work for anything, is pampered and treated basically like a god. “Honorable” is not a word that feels appropriate sitting anywhere near Kim Jong Un.
I don’t actually know that if Trump’s porn star affair gets validated that anything substantial will actually happen. I don’t expect it would honestly change anyone’s mind about the man one way or the other. I’m 100% sure it will ultimately lead to nothing….yet at the same time, I just want to see it run it’s course. I mean, it’s a fascinating story, and the fact that some poor lawyer had to get a home equity loan to pay off this porn star, ultimately to be stiffed by his boss is just amazing to me, and now there is this 60 Minutes interview that the White House is trying to kill, and by god, at this point, I just want to hear the story! And regardless of what happens if the story finally breaks, the fact that Trump can’t run away from this story fast enough is somewhat gratifying as well.
So officials from South Korea, who had been in talks with the leadership in North Korea headed stateside to begin the process of facilitating talks. Now, if literally any other person were sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office, (and I mean literally anyone else, like George W., definitely Obama, hell Nixon would probably knock it out of the park!) this might feel like hopeful news of a resolution that we might not have expected in our life time. As much as Trump has exacerbated tensions with North Korea, he’s not at fault for the precarious situation they’ve created. But it will be his fault when things go south with these talks, because I can’t bring myself to believe in the hope that Donald Trump will handle this situation with dignity and class. I just don’t have that level of optimism. I mean, he can’t seem to decide if the invitation he accepted to chat with North Korean leadership is a good idea.
North Korea has really been using the Winter Olympics as a good stage to show a softer, gentler side of fascism. Their propaganda department has been doing an expert job of getting Kim Yo-Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, some favorable spotlight, with some really well staged opportunities in South Korea. I know that this is part of a careful, and calculated plot to gain more favorable relations with the countries sanctioning the heck out of them right now, but I kind of humorously imagine that this might rankle Un a little bit, that his little sister is so much more well like than he is.
So after the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump says he has a great relationship with Kim Jong Un. When Trump refuted the statements, Both the White House and the WSJ released audio from the interview…that just confirmed the WSJ interview. It’s bizarre how Trump expects vindication even though reality is against him.
Mind the Exit 