Trump Meets Kim, Steps in North Korea

Andrew Donaldson

Born and raised in West Virginia, Andrew has since lived and traveled around the world several times over. Though frequently writing about politics out of a sense of duty and love of country, most of the time he would prefer discussions on history, culture, occasionally nerding on aviation, and his amateur foodie tendencies. He can usually be found misspelling/misusing words on Twitter @four4thefire and his food writing website Yonder and Home. Andrew is the host of Heard Tell podcast.

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14 Responses

  1. Mike Dwyer says:

    It’s hard not to be cynical about what the President might have said during the neeting, but I will say two positive things (and then go wash my mouth out with soap)

    1) The problems with North Korea won’t be solved with conventional military action, special forces or coup. We have to talk to them and Trump may be uniquely suited to convince Kim he has a friend in the WH.

    2) This is really what presidents are supposed to do. Represent the United States in the international community. I’d prefer to see future presidents do a lot more of this and a lot less telling me what my healthcare or taxes should look like.Report

    • Yeah, this is one of those, “this is simply not done!” things that everyone in the foreign policy establishment agrees should not be done without really explaining why.Report

      • Brent F in reply to Michael Siegel says:

        As I understand it, the consensus is that this is something the North Koreans have wanted very much and shouldn’t be just given away unless America was getting something back.

        Trump thoroughly does not care about any of that and sees pageantry as its own reward, so cashed in a bargaining chip for nothing.Report

        • George Turner in reply to Brent F says:

          Well, that means that talking to Donald Trump is the biggest bargaining chip the US has, which means Donald Trump is probably the greatest leader in US history. “If you give up your nuclear weapons, I will let you bask in my presence for at least an hour.”

          Meanwhile, tickets for Hillary’s speaking tour are going for about $10.Report

          • North in reply to George Turner says:

            Correction: If you say something that could maybe be interpreted, by Trump, as promising to give up your nuclear weapons then you get to bask in his presence. A price about as worthless as the good it purchases.Report

            • Chip Daniels in reply to North says:

              Your lack of faith in the Dear Leader is troubling.

              You should make sure you don’t compound it by failing to cheer lustfully at the great Patriotic Parade and Tank Festival.Report

            • George Turner in reply to North says:

              As compared to previous Presidents’ accomplishments with North Korea?

              Obama looked at North Korea with a pair of binoculars once, through two-inch thick bulletproof glass. I doubt the North was aware of him at all, and they rapidly accelerated their nuclear weapon’s programs, which were made possible by a long list of failures from previous administrations.

              On his last day in office, Obama told Trump that North Korea was his most pressing, intractable problem. By the time Trump leaves office we’ll be building Trump hotels in Hanoi to accommodate all the tourists.

              That’s because in international trade, North Korea is only good at making one thing: Making truly epic statues of great leaders who walk astride the Earth like a god. Building giant statues of Trump is going to become their core business, so it’s a case of a supplier meeting with their best future customer.Report

  2. Chip Daniels says:

    I haven’t seen any evidence, ever, that Trump even for a moment, represented the United States.

    The best case scenario is that two sociopathic narcissists met, rambled incoherently for a few moments, then waddled back to their respective lairs.Report

  3. George Turner says:

    Well, Trump needs to work with Kim so Kim can map out a route in which North Korea joins the outside world, without North Korea’s populace flipping out after they have an epiphany caused by their first serious exposure to reality, along with realizing that everyone else just had the same thought, and then slaughtering Kim and all his minions or getting slaughtered by them.

    Kim has to figure out how Vietnam’s communist party survived privatization, how China did it, and how Gorbachev sort of made it through Perestroika. He also has to make sure he doesn’t go out like Ceausescu, or like most of his relatives and generals.

    So, he has to change a great many fundamental narratives in ways the North Korean public will accept. I think the current one is that although previous American presidents were all capitalist war mongers who wanted to drink the blood of Koreans, Donald Trump could become a great friend of the North Korean people. That might have to sink in for a year or two before Kim can make another major change to the narrative.

    I would liken it to a country that’s living in the Matrix. Too many obvious program glitches and everybody might catch on at the same time and destroy the shared illusion.Report

  4. North says:

    Eh, with the Norks I prefer Trump and Kim jabbering at each other to just about any of the other likely outcome. Let them chatter.Report