Trump is so full of himself, and eager to control the news, he agreed to a North Korean meeting without a formal letter, just the word of South Korea, who he let make the announcement in the driveway of the White House.
No preconditions, either. If Trump were the big brained great negotiator of his fantasies, he would have said no meeting until North Korea releases the three Americans being held there. He probably doesn’t know they are captive.
North Korea is a small outlaw nation trying for legitimacy for decades. It never keeps agreements. Its goal is to be recognized as one of the big boys. When Trump said without consultation he would meet they got that recognition on the world stage: This little regime that roared meeting with the United States. Their mission accomplished, if nothing else is achieved. But they would like to get U.S. troops out of South Korea and build bigger bombs to stay in power.
Two Things:
Trump’s Game Show Moment is deflection to get embarrassing porn star Stormy Daniels off the front page along with the talk of secret meetings with Russians and speculation of what Bob Mueller is up to. It worked. Expect Trump to try to get a meeting at something he owns or at least has his name on it so he can benefit personally. His presidency is about him and his family profiting.
North Korean sanctions are working and hurting the brutal dictatorship. They want sanctions ended but they won’t give up their nuclear program, which is the only threat they have in an otherwise weak and economically failing country. They see what happened to other countries similarly situated that gave up their weapons. Perhaps they will agree to a halt of nuke tests and inspections. Maybe tensions will be lessened. Or it could be a trap, a play for time to develop a bigger and better arsenal.
Would Trump recognize he is being used? Or would his massive ego dismiss the thought? He talks of “the art of the deal” but Trump’s history shows he can’t deal or negotiate, he is awful at it except in his dreams. That’s why he has failed in so many businesses and filed for bankruptcy multiple times.
These erratic moves by Trump — unsophisticated and largely uneducated in the ways of diplomacy and the world, who lives to be flattered day and night, and cheered by rallies of fawning fans — can be a disaster in an international high stakes game Trump can’t control like his scripted TV game show designed to make people believe he is something he isn’t.
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