Let’s be optimistic and stop the needless criticism. This man is our leader, like it or not.
2
TRUMP IS OUT OF TOUCH NOT ONLY WITH REALITY, But even with his own VP, Pence and Secretary of State, Pompeo. The wisest words about the meeting came from Chuck Schumer who asked, What planet is the president on? Saying that the nuclear arms threat is gone DOES NOT MAKE IT SO [emphasis ours]. Also, the article states that: "Bruce Klingner, a Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation and a former C.I.A. analyst, said the joint statement signed in Singapore did not even commit North Korea to do as much as it promised in deals negotiated in 1994 and 2005 that it later failed to live up to." The most troubling of all to me is the clear evidence that Trump's age-related changes to his brain functioning have increased his disorientation to reality, along with linguistic, memory and executive brain functions. What he stated about North Korea is on a par with Reagan's demented statements about the poem, The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner by Randall Jarrrell, which he appeared to confuse with a movie script or a military experience. Both Trump's and Reagan's statements are described as confabulations, meaning narratives that are imaginary but seem to be statements of fact to the teller. Reagan's Cabinet observed him closely one day to see if, as they suspected, his mental capacities were impaired to the extent that they would have to invoke the 25th and remove Reagan. On the day of their observation, Reagan was focused. But Turmp's bragging shows he's severely impaired.
6
Notice how Pompeo puts the next phase right before the next election. What a surprise! Trump can warn the gullible believers that if you do not vote for him, you risk nuclear devastation! Clever.
By the way, if you think you can now "sleep well tonight" because of the meeting our gullible praise seeking leader had, just remember the phrase, "Peace in our time." ...compliments of Neville Chamberlain.
4
I think Kim has played Trump brilliantly, and has come out as the 'winner' of the Singapore summit ! Seems Kim knows the art of a deal.
3
Re "everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office"...
...most people are only going to start feeling safer on the day you leave office.
3
In Trump's words are echoes of Neville Chamberlain, who when returning from the Munich Conference, said:
"My good friends, this is the second time there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Now I recommend you go home, and sleep quietly in your beds."
4
All those nukes? Why, they just vanished like fairy dust. Tinkerbell swears to it.
4
Trump is lying again. Nothing has changed in favor of our security. Everything has changed in favor of N. Korea, Russia and China. Trump is a puppet and a traitor. Where the heck are the GOP patriots?? Are there ANY???????
4
In many ways, Trump is a fool! It just goes to show how far flattery will get you in life.
But perhaps he's not so foolish. After all, it is absolutely clear that Trump is determined to open up the DPRK for his own personal reasons: commercial reasons. There are millions and millions of dollars to be made in real estate for him and Jared; and more millions of dollars to be made for Ivanka with the expansion of her fashion empire. There is cheap labour aplenty in North Korea. Those people can be exploited to the max.
3
Right, and my Trump University diploma will make me a real estate mogul. And your administration's Ultimate Peace Deal in the Middle East won't involve regime change or ethnic cleansing.
3
The remaining threat is primarily Dangerous Donald.
2
Don't get mad... Vote!
4
Why are conservatives and evangelicals out in the street railing against Trumps idolizing of a man whose regime persecutes christians as fervently as the worst offending middle eastern nations? Also, how does the simple fact that Trump, who by meeting with Kim, gave a totalitarian despot legitimacy on the world stage, make Trump a hero? Kim will not disarm, so what is this all really about? Anyway, chiming in with all who KNOW: Obama would have been crucified by the right had he done this. And to all of those who did condemn Obama for his meetings and shakings of hands with Islamic leaders and applaud Trump for doing worse, the hypocrisy and application of double standard are stunning.
5
At least he knows we are not sleeping well. How long will it take his bone spurs to figure out it is he who is keeping us awake from fear?
1
"North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat...and now I've got a Tappan Zee Bridge to sell you...."
6
trump lies, always!!!!
3
South Korean President Moon Jae-in deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for convincing the dangerous and erratic Mr. Trump to start negotiations instead of waging war. What Mr. Moon achieved was an amazing feat of diplomacy and his fellow South Koreans owe him a deep debt of gratitude for saving their country from almost certain doom. It remains to be seen, however, if the current negotiations will achieve anything lasting. If the negotiations break down, we could see a return to a very dangerous situation. But at least for the moment, we can all sleep a little better.
Neville Chamberlin said much the same thing as well Mr. Trump. You were played like a $99 violin.
5
How reassuring. Assurance we can bank on from Putin's Puppet in Chief - a raging sociopath and pathological liar - about a brutal psychopath. Orwell could not have written this book about America.
4
Let’s be optimistic and stop the needless criticism. This man is our leader, like it or not.
3
Optimistic about what???
Optimism concerning Trumps Presidency has vanished within days into his Tenure.
6
Huh? Is Trump stupid or naive. Both actually. NK will never disassemble their nukes. Libya is a lasting reminder. Trump’s trolling for a Nobel Peace Prize. He’ll be trolling forever.
4
Really? You mean I can rest easy because, Trump, the great deal maker say so. Just what was settled between these two "dictators" that assures the world that Kim is yearning to have peace and an open society in North Korea.
In reading history this reminds me of the meetings between Chamberlain and Hitler. Trump is really scary folks.
3
trump opened his mouth and lied either through ignorance, laziness, intent, or all three. In so doing he attempted to con the American public and probably succeeded with about 40% of them who desperately wish to be conned by him. What else is new?
5
And it will not stop there. Tump will continue to make claims that he is at least solving the North Korea issue - something other presidents could not do.
Tump will exploit the North Korea situation all the way even thought the only side who really got any advantages from the meeting is North Korea.
Tump will make many concessions to Kim - as many as he can - with the objective to get him to calm down for as long as he can and use that politically to advance his party and himself.
All this comes at the expense of the USA of course.
Tump is crazy but not stupid.
Tump is all about himself. Americans got bamboozled big time.
2
North Korea was never a threat. The threat is Mr. Trump's mental state and narcissism. If he believes North Korea is no longer a threat, then we can all sleep easier. I'm all for letting him maintain this delusion.
1
I simply don’t understand Pompeo”s outrage. The questions being asked were reasonable given the friction between the US and North Korea over the last 70 years. Did he expect that the citizens of the US would now believe that NK is now our “friend” just because Trump paid a visit?
It seems that there is not a single person in Trump’s who doesn’t get irritated when asked a tough,,but reasonable question.
Is there a single adult working in this Administration?
10
The Con Don just set the stage for WW3.
When he is impeached and we replace him with a Socially Conscious, experienced, qualified leader he and his International Mafia Top 1% Global Financial Elite Robber Baron/Radical religion Good Old Boys' cabal and their strong men like Steve Bannon will try to cause global unrest by saying that OUR United States is breaking OUR commitments. They are NOT our commitments. They are Crook Trump's words.
Why anyone voted for or supports this democracy/civilization, socially unconscious, demented, inherited wealth, bigoted, steroid-induced destroyer and his Robber Baron brethren defies reason.
Like the unfortunate souls who killed themselves and their children at Jones town - to "honor" their crazy leader - The Con Don has created a cult of dangerous proportion.
WE THE PEOPLE - anyone who loves civilization, democracy and the lives we have enjoyed since WW2 - are the only ones who can/will stop them.
NOW is the time. Now may be the only time.
4
I'd sleep better if trump wasn't making the promise. He's already making the Iran Agreements trash.
4
I was sleeping well before November 8, 2016. That's when an amoral, delusional. power-hungry and very talented con man conned enough Americans in just the right states to make him commander-in-chief in charge of starting nuclear wars. He then proceeded to create fear and provoke a crisis that would supposedly justify a US first strike. I won't sleep any better until there is a sane, responsible and honest person with his finger on the button.
10
Nothing that happened in Singapore has changed one iota of North Korea's nuclear program.
Instead, He Who Shall Not Be Named paid compliments to a mass murderer and even saluted a North Korean general. This country gave up at least one major concession - a meeting with the President - and maybe another - an end to war games on the peninsula - and got nothing in return.
That's "winning," alright - for North Korea.
So I'm not going to sleep any better because I know that our president is an utter fool.
14
When a reporter pressed for more details about how the nuclear deal (such as it is) with North Korea would be verified, Secretary of State Mike Pompeus grew testy: “I find that question insulting and ridiculous and, frankly, ludicrous”
7
The childish statements made by Trump after the meeting with KJU, plus a host of scandals, each serious enough to question Trump's ability to be President, should be enough to say, as a country we have had enough of this circus. It is no longer cute, but a matter of national security and we should be worried, very worried.
4
Trump sees many things, and always in the extremes of 'this is fantastic, beautiful, the best' or 'stupid, weak, sad'. And of course he may see something entirely different tomorrow. Recent example rocket boy to a fine person.
4
Trump just made the world a more dangerous place.
Kim now knows (did Trump give him a green light?) that Kim can invade the South and the US will do nothing. Kim's army, which is China's junk-yard dog, is straining on it's leash.
Since the invasion will expand China's sphere of influence, Kim will have an inexhaustible supply line into China.
After that Taiwan, Japan, and Australia are lined up. They might prefer a forced alignment with China rather than with Trump's new America that is closing markets.
China has a big stick, but it also has a big carrot.
All China has to do is open its market, which it will do selectively when the time is right and everyone will become China's new best friend. Then China starts to sell its dollar reserves. Our trading partners (once our friends) and their export markets will then transfer to China.
To understand China vs. the US, it's helpful to visualize a single map of the US land mass, and then surround that map with 4.3 more US maps.
That's China's population compared to us. Each individual Chinese person is well programmed to out compete the average American, with a higher average IQ, English language skills, a far stronger work ethic, a greater ability to endure, and a laser focus on family achievement and education.
Did you know that the average Chinese kid is either in school or studying 70 hours a week? If you want to sleep well at night, you really need to be Chinese.
2
How does any rational citizen think that Trump is not crazy.
He just lies, and expects everyone to accept it.
The only time he has told the truth- when he said: " i could kill someone on 5th ave and they would still vote for me"
He is a clear and present danger to our democracy
5
Has anyone checked to see if Trump made a deal with Un to build a Trump hotel to "create North Korea as a vacation destination"?
5
I'm so relieved to hear that the whole nuclear threat has been cleared up in just one meeting. Who knew it could be that simple?
7
Trump did in one short meeting what presidents for several decade could not do, he made North Korea into Switzerland. What a guy, truly the greatest of deal makers.
6
Randall Koreman of the Real World,
Why on earth do you crave the affection and respect of this adminstration when his distain guarantees you are on the right side of history? You are in the fold while I, and my country-people, have been banished. Praying that Canada invades soon if our Congress fails to respond. Cheers!
1
North Korea has probably never been a realistic threat to US. But one of the key reasons I can't sleep at night, is the knowledge that Donald Trump is President of The United States!!!
8
If any Democratic president uttered this claim they would be pilloried by the right -- weak on defense; naïve; putting our nation at risk. Meanwhile, this guy does a little staged reality TV between himself and another narcissist w/ little tangible results, declares us safe, and life on the right goes on like it's a day at the beach. Beam me up, please!
6
Now that that problem is solved, hopefully the GOP will all relocate to the beautiful beaches of North Korea and establish their Utopian libertarian society.
12
Trump is so over his head. Why can't he do what W Bush would have done and bomb NK off the face of the earth and invade China? Then America would truly be great again.
This is supremely ironic. North Korea never posed a serious threat to the US, but Donald Trump most certainly does.
12
Imagine if W Bush decided to have a beer with Saddam Hussein and talk things over in 2003. We probably would have avoided the catastrophe of the Middle East over the past 15 years with so many trillions spent, lives lost and nothing gained. Trump's strategy and tactics have my full support.
“Mission Accomplished”
9
The US is the greatest nuclear threat in the world. So how can anyone rest easy.
8
Compare the "brilliant deal maker's" (Trumps') agreement with North Korea with the "worst agreement ever" - the Iran deal President Obama struck along with the EU and Russia to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Kim made the same promises his father and grandfather have made and broken for decades. He made unverifiable claims to close a nuclear testing and a missile-testing site. In return he: is keeping his nuclear weapons and missiles; has gained world-wide recognition; broken the economic sanctions that took years to create and were finally biting; and got the U.S. to stop military exercises with our South Korean allies. In the Iran deal, Iran: decommissioned thousands of centrifuges used to enrich fissionable materials that could be used for a nuclear bomb; agreed to not proceed with creating a bomb for at least a decade; accepted international observers and monitoring equipment to VERIFY that it was complying with the deal; and sent highly enriched uranium out of the country. Inspectors have consistently found Iran in full compliance. In return the U.S. and Europeans were to lift sanctions [which would have benefitted all participants' economies] and return Iranian funds that had been frozen to Iran. The U.S. did not fully lift sanctions and withdrew from the deal and is trying to re-impose sanctions even after bashing our European allies. Iran no longer is obligated to not develop nuclear weapons. Great wins by Trump.
5
Why is North Korea no longer a threat, because Donald Trump says so?
Seems Trump now admires Rocketman, a bit like he admires Duterte.
Those 'FEMA camps' the alt-right were so convinced were coming, Kim does gulags. Does Trumpnation think gulags are OK?
Does Trumpmerica think shooting drug-offense suspects on-sight is OK?
At what point does the word 'unamerican' get dusted off & pointed in the proper direction by the 'patriots' of Trumpnation...
7
If you believe that North Korea will actually denuclearize, which of your New York area bridges can I sell you?
6
Right N. Korea is no longer a nuclear threat- just as Dismal Donnie. What a joke. There is not enough Kool Aid in the world to make people believe that one.
2
Just like Nazi Germany was no longer a threat in the late 1930's, according to British PM Neville Chamberlain, who claimed "peace in our time." WW-II started months thereafter.
4
I can't wait for the next imaginary claim.
Russia is "no longer an enemy state"? The sun "no longer causes skin cancer'? Tomato no longer a vegetable?
After all, Trump is all-powerful in his own mind. Like Canute, I suppose he thinks he can command the tides and cause the sea not to roll in. AH! I've got it. Trump will declare that "Climate change is "no longer a threat"... because he said so.
How long will the Republicans continue to worship at the feet of this false god? Not to mention the Evangelicals, those former so-called Christians now prostrating themselves before this visions of power and wealth.
9
Actually, tomato is a fruit. It's not a vegetable, unlike POTUS.
2
a tomato is technically a fruit.
Maybe technically tomato is a fruit, but I wouldn't try serving tomatoes in a fruit salad! That's why we find it more useful to call it a vegetable.
North Korea never was a nuclear threat... to us. They were and still are a nuclear threat to South Korea and Japan.
3
nuclear threat cannot be contained so neatly.
1
They're not a direct nuclear threat to us right now, but only because they haven't yet succeeded at making missiles that can reach us. Given the way nuclear radiation can spread, an indirect threat is enough to scare me.
President Trump declared Wednesday that North Korea is “no longer a nuclear threat”.
Said from a trustworthy and transparent person like him who would doubt it?
6
Why should we be lead to believe we are safe now that Trump has given away our strategic interests. Doesn't he know that one bomb, in a submarine, fishing trawler, in the hands of ISIS or even lobbed on Tokyo or Seoul will have a major impact on the future of all of us?
4
According to our bloviator in chief, we can all sleep better now, since he has met and stared into the dictator's soul and having communed together, declares the nuclear threat from North Korea no longer viable. Trump is surely in the forefront of those eligible for the peace prize.
3
I feel so safe now that 80 years after the "peace in our time" pronouncement came with a worthless piece of paper a new version has arrived.
3
The U.S. nuclear codes are in the hands of a mentally-unstable, pathological liar. So no, Don, no one should sleep soundly until you are out of office!
8
As a citizen of an enemy state (Canada) I only wish one day we would get the same adoration and respect from this administration and be allowed back in the fold. Up is down, right is wrong, black is white and Trump is King of America until the end of days.
10
As one ashamed American to our northern neighbor and longtime ally: Please understand most of us here think Trump is an utterly deranged dotard.
5
Then why did we not vote in larger numbers to keep him from winning? Because half of those who call him a dotard are even worse themselves...do nothings, especially when it comes to getting off the couch and voting as if your life depended on it, which it does.
Yes, that famous saying: In a democracy, the people get the government they deserve.
I'll sleep better when Trump is gone.......
11
Kathy H,
Oh, God yes. Me too. It's especially worrying living on the West Coast. He is three hours ahead. Who knows what he will do while I'm sleeping?
2
Wake me when it's over.
Nightmare America.
The Trump Doctrine: Declare himself a winner in all things, facts be damned. Kim played POTUS like the chump he is.
6
What great news, between that and the savings from stopping those expensive war games, I expect to see a high cut in the military budget.
Can anyone really think that NK, after many decades of building their arsenal, just because of Trump’s charm, would disarm itself completely first?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Kim DOESN’T BELIEVE any single word Trump is saying.
1
I went to the tribute for Ursula K. Le Guin last night. We were reminded of one of her most famous short stories, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas".
Her imagination and prescience were immediately recognizable to me if not to the many others in the audience.
Sadly, it highlighted the fear and loathing that so characterize Trump's base. They need to sacrifice others to feel safe.
They can easily dismiss and so distort the sacrifice of millions of people around the world, including their friends and neighborhoods.
They imagine it will deliver them to their unimaginable, to most, brutalizing utopia.
They are to be feared and pitied at the same time. But our mission is to confront them, absolve them and isolate their nightmares.
They must be made well or they must be so isolated they are not able to infect the next generation.
The cure is coming in November.
1
I have been sleeping better at night but only because Trump has quit calling Kim "rocket boy" and has quit boasting about how big his nuclear button is.
1
There is no difference now than before the summit. As long as there is one nuclear weapon in North Korea's possession, the world is not safe. To think otherwise is foolish.
2
How dare you, DSS, speak with such disrespect about our ally North Korea. Your comments are not appreciated, especially coming from the enemy state of Canada.
2
"Sleep well tonight"? I haven't slept well since Trump has been elected. I wonder what color the sky is in his world?
4
Trump states:“President Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem. No longer - sleep well tonight!”
I'll sleep well when Trump and all his cronies are no longer in office.
2
I believe Obama said that about Pakistan.
The real negotiations? Remember Trump's oozing over those beautiful beaches in North Korea, and how resorts could be built? It should not be lost that Trump met Kim one-on-one. I have a nagging feeling that Trump told Kim, in private, that the Trump family could make him rich. Just let the family develop those beautiful shorelines. Ridiculous? Nothing is so with this group.
3
"There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience." ...."No more rocket launches, nuclear testing or research! The hostages are back home with their families. Thank you to Chairman Kim, our day together was historic!" ....And returning the salute of a NK general. SAD!
Donald Trump-the Neville Chamberlain of our times.
1
Based on Pompeo's statement that hopefully NK is going to "denuclearized" by 2021. I like to know what US is giving up in those 2+ years, too much for nothing tangible I'm afraid. Watch for the continuing dialog to stall and fail or promise made by NK and not kept, which will Trump will blame Obama for it! China will undermine this as best they can and Trump is altready Russia's advocate. This administration just don't have the intelligence to foresee it
2
Don't believe anything this grifter and con-man says. He will eventually deny or flip-flop.
"Sleep well tonight" reminds me suspiciously of "Mission accomplished." They're both in the same category as "Trust me," and we all know what that means.
3
Again Trump ignores a grisly human rights record. Just a few months ago he seethed over the torture, and death, of Otto Warmbier, and now he embraces his murderer. Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of North Koreans have been tortured, imprisoned, and have died over the decades. But Trump sensed a PR coup, and now has legitimized a despot - just as he keeps trying to do with Putin. Trump has no inkling of what he is doing in the long term - immediate ego gratification and photo ops are all that matters to him. Cozying up with Putin, detention centers for children separated from their parents, abandoning our allies - the US has to wake up to the fat that this narcissistic reality show clown is wreaking damage to the US nationally and internationally could take years to undo. What next? Is he going to endorse Xi and China's continued genocide in Tibet?
1
I can't wait for little rocket man to launch one just before the mid-terms!
1
President Trump, North Korea was never a nuclear threat. Kim Jung-un realizes that if he launches a nuclear first-strike there will be no more North Korea. In fact, what I've just described is the exact dynamic that has been in place since 1948, which has led to exactly zero nuclear detonations on a population, even though thousands of nuclear missiles sit poised to launch. You sir, with your absurd vision of the world, built a Third World bully into an international player. Obama would never have made this mistake. You've fallen into the North Korea trap. Kim was doing the moonwalk back at his hotel as he and his aids celebrated their victory. Now you will give him what he really wants: economic power. You'll lift sanctions on a brutal dictator while placing sanctions on our best friends. You can forget about a Nobel prize. You've fooled no one in Stockholm.
1
Only Trump's deluded base believes this. Kim Jong un has make similar promises before and continued his his nuclear program. With no verification or penalty provisions in the "agreement" this is more meaningless Trump chatter. (And I have read the text of the "agreement".)
3
Having thrown America under the bus in his deal with Kim Trump must now rely on others to negotiate what he should have done. This man must not ever be allowed to negotiate on our behalf ever again.
1
I just saw Trump salute (salute!!) a N. Korean general. Let's see.....I seem to remember Mr. Obama bow his head slightly to the head of Japan and a firestorm ensued. Trump SALUTES a N Korean general and all is hunky-dory.
I want to scream. Scream and scream and scream. He's destroying our country. Right in front of our eyes.
Sleep tight? Not ever with you as president, Mr. Trump. I've never felt so unsafe as an American. Never.
What ally will share intelligence with us? If I were Teresa May or Angela Merkel or Macron, I'd cut us off completely. There is no going forward with this president. They have to stop him since the cowards in Congress will not. They need to shut the door on us.
11
"Trump sees end to North Korea Nuclear Threat..."
Well of course, "Mr Gimme My Nobel Trophy Now" does.
The rest of the entire world sees this little 30 minute "summit" for the choreographed photo opp that it was.
North Korea went home boastful and smiling.
DJT went home, bumbling and dazed, wondering what the hell just happened.
3
Interesting! How do we know that North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat to the world despite unclear path? What is the logic behind this interesting statement given that the President Obama’s Iran-deal is considered an atrocious failure by the current administration despite its unanimous acceptance by the rest of the world?
3
Trump's flattery of Kim speaks to the fact that he flat out admires and, I would imagine given his rhetoric, envies Kim, Sisi, Erdogan, Putin, and Duterte. How else to explain his fawning rhetoric for these leaders as candidate and president. They are all great people doing great jobs in very rough situations, unlike leaders in messy western democracies and weak, sad Democrats in congress who dare to question or criticize Trump or his policies.
Dictators can make enemies disappear, newspapers shut down, and political opposition fear for their lives.
What's not to like?
4
The "deal" with North Korea is make-believe, all for show, as were the antagonistic tweet exchanges between Trump and Un. A desperate bit of last-ditch razzle-dazzle from a cynical con artist. Patriotic Americans won't sleep better until they have a competent president who is not owned by a hostile foreign power.
3
One short meeting in which Trump calls Kim fat and the whole nuclear threat is neutralized? Fantastic job, Mr. President.
2
Mike Pompeo: you were asked a question. Answer it. You were not asked for your opinion of the question. Remember, you are a public official and answerable to the public or did they leave that out of your indoctrination ?
5
TRUMP: Trust me and don't bother to verify.
3
Yes a vexing geopolitical issue, with the lives of millions in the balance and multilateral pressure and efforts was just solved in a day by the most unprofessional administration in history, with a gutted State Dept. and only by proclamation, mostly for self aggrandizement and by any other measure appeasement we would have never allowed before.
How are those conversations going with the South today?
3
I am not at all surprised at the 'results' from the Singapore meeting. It is exactly what I expected. Trump would legitimize Kim, call him his best friend, an honorable man, blah blah and get nothing..... Kim won this round but then I knew he would. Trump is a fool and shouldn't be leading a boy scout troop. What more is he going to give away, what other allies is he going to diss, what more damage is he going to do to what used to be the greatest country in the world?
2
It must be painful to work at the New York Times these days.
Remember when the NYT 'reported' news. now you have to spend hours trying to twist a story to show the badness in it. Seriously, every article about Trump has to be negative?
He has North Korea at the negotiating table. Has any president done that in 30 years? Or 50 years? Nixon opened China with the same tactic. small steps.
Sure, Trump didn't get handed a Nobel Prize just for showing up. But he is getting results.
Time to start admitting he is getting results, even if you don't like his methods.
Yes, we have denuclearization negotiations with NK going back 25 years. This "agreement" provides the same vague promises the Kim regime has been making for decades.
1
Kim has been trying to find a US President gullible enough to sit down with him for years. Trump didn't "get" Kim to the table - he enabled him to get parity on the world stage. Sure, that's a result, but not one that serves the US or anyone else, other than NPK.
1
Pretty much any previous president COULD have met with North Korea’s leaders. They CHOSE not to in order to ensure the dictators, Un and his father were not further legitimized and empowered by such a meeting. This is pure grandstanding by Trump in order to divert attention away from all the problems, legal and otherwise, he has created for himself.
1
A fifth-grader first up at his first softball game swung at the ball and hit a home run. After touching home plate, he ran into the dugout and shouted, "Game Over!"
3
We all know that our glorious leader never lies and that comrade Trump cares only for the good of all Americans. What a simpleton.
1
Who knew diplomacy was so easy? /sarc
The NK rockets can't fly anymore?
Sorcerer Trump has a magic wand?
4
Trump's claim of ending North Korean nuclear threat reminds me of a page in WW 2 history.
After the Munich meeting with Hitler, Chamberlain too, waved a piece of paper and loudly claimed Peace for Europe and Hitler had no intention of war.
6
Kim is laughing until his round little belly shakes. Overconfidence is Trump's middle name. He is a fool and that is a fact.
4
Doesn't his comments remind you of Pearl Harbor?
1
...Says the Liar in Chief.
No, the biggest threat to global peace, democracy, the environment, women's reproductive rights, the fair treatment of immigrants, the well-being of the LGBQT community, a solid public education system... is you and your corrupt administration, Mr. so-called "President".
5
I wonder if Trump trusted Stormy Daniels after the first 5 hours they spent together?
2
Trump just did what we couldn't do about the Vietnam War. Just declare victory and leave.
1
Trump reminds me of that other guy who brought "peace with honor": https://goo.gl/6kDjJ5
2
I think Trump had worked himself into frenzy and was on the verge of going to war with NK a couple of months ago.
This meeting has calmed Trump down, and with the largely positive media coverage he is a happy camper.
I think this is a confirmation of something we all knew - Trump is emotionally unstable, but stroke his ego and give him a good photo op and he'll give away the farm in a heartbeat.
4
Strategic chaos is how Trump keeps everyone in line - other countries, the people around him, and the media.
His fire and fury is all show, but you never know, so he gets the negotiation advantage. If Kim does nothing positive for a follow-through, Trump will immediately stop being nicey nice and Kim knows this because that's how Trump operates.
It's a carrot and stick, good cop bad cop strategy. Trump's a genius at both. Being a psychopath, that helps with the strategic chaos routine, because you never know.
When I think of peace in our time, I envision Trump and Cohen in orange jump suits sharing the same cell.
8
So .. Mission accomplished, then?
1
"Mr. Trump’s team insisted that North Korea had agreed to an intrusive inspection regime even though Pyongyang made no mention of that."
Trump supporters swallow that patent nonsense hook, line, and sinker.
Only 145 days until the midterm Congressional elections.
Unlike November 8, 2016, reality based voters have to show up this time or our great nation is doomed.
5
When Mr. Kim’s record of ordering the deaths of members of his own family and presiding over one of the most repressive states in the world was mentioned, Mr. Trump said, “Yeah but so have a lot of other people, done some really bad things. I mean, I could go through a lot of nations where a lot of bad things were done.”
Please, Mr. Trump, tell us specifically which national leaders order deaths of their own family members and repress their citizens in order to remain in power.
Then tell us which of these you admire.
10
Trump has proved himself beyond reform. His outrageous behavior from siding with Putin and Russia, to alienating and nearly destroying our relationship with Europe as well as our neighbors to the north and south to now cozying up to a ruthless dictator who would exterminate any and all in his country who would stand in his way. In just one week (and we still have the rest of today and tomorrow) he's turned the US from that shining city on the hill to a dysfunctional mess not to be trusted.
But here's the real question. Where is congress? Where is their duty to provide a balance of power. Is this what they really want for their/our country? Take a look folks, because this is what they are approving of by their silence. About the only solution that we as citizens have is to remember all of this in November and vote because sadly we have no alternative to turn things around in this country as long as republicans hold congress.
3
God bless Donald J Trump. Had he been president 8 years ago, we would not be where we are now in Syria. May he have 6.5 more years.
1
That much happiness and satisfaction from nothing more than a meeting where nothing was agreed and nothing clarified. What do you think has happened, here? Trump said that there is no longer any nuclear threat but he offered no support whatever for that assertion. Is his saying so all that you need to hear?
North Korea has never been a threat to us. It has managed to be able to retaliate if attacked and that has resulted in our talking with them. Its is a good start and intentions make more of a difference than weapons. The oppressive regime in North Korea is based on and strengthened by fear. It's biggest challenge will be to survive and maintain power without that fear of attack and in an opening with other countries. A lot more can be gained in friendship than with threats whether in North Korea or Iran.
No Mr. Trump, I won't sleep well until you are out of office!
5
This "deal" is pure ego play and pawnmanship.
Who's playing whom remains to be seen.
That's the scary part.
1
Okay. So that makes Trump the greatest threat th the United States.
3
It is good to know that Trump on the day before his birthday declares that North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat to the United States or any other country on our planet.
What is admirable is that this declaration has resulted from not a single bullet fired or any human life lost or injured.
Now we can only hope that the process of verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula begins with the urgency of now and the dream of making Singapore out of North Korea that was sold to Kim with condos behind the beaches of the NoKo shores begins to be realized.
Have a wonderful birthday President Trump.
1
There will be a Trump Resort on North Korean beaches long before the North denuclearizes or any independent verifier inspects the NK nuclear program. Kim Jong-un has played Trump for the blow hard fool that Trump is.
2
It certainly seems as though the Republicans are the party of the communists these days. After so many years of name-calling the Democrats weak on defense and national security and posing as hawkish "defenders of freedom and liberty" Republicans have caved into a human slag pile as they name-call anyone who has an opinion different from them.
It is a sad and lonely place to be as you gasp for relevance as you feel yourself expire, and scream out your expletives of a death rattle, rushing toward the inevitable frightening void of irrelevance ahead of you.
3
Kim plays Trump, getting Trump to agree to pull his "Rocket Man Tweeter" off-line and to build a Castle In the Air with a pre-announced plan to put it into bankruptcy in 6 months or so.
All the while, in the background, China quietly agrees to relax /ignore sanctions as a reward to Kim for making Trump look like ever more of an idiot.
I guess we should thank Kim (and Moon) for reducing tensions by short-circuiting the Nuclear Saber Rattling Tweets by DJT.
3
Thanks for the kind assurance, Donald. But I won't sleep well until you have been chased out of office. YOU are a much bigger threat to America than Kim ever was or could be.
4
There will be a beachfront Trump Tower in North Korea before they denuclearize.
3
This "agreement" is typical for Trump, and will proceed as follows:
1. Create a media circus in advance
2. Declare victory and make absurd, vague claims
3. Move the goal post for defining success frequently
4. Deny what you said originally
5. Blame Hillary Clinton, Obama and the media
The worst part of this is giving the murderous Kim Jong Un legitimacy and even praise as "talented."
7
"North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat to the United States."
As far as epitaphs go, that's not very inspiring... go ahead and jot it down, but let's keep brainstorming.
1
No one in the world is going to "sleep well" as long as this megalomaniac is in the Oval Office.
3
**Resubmission** Thank you, Neville, oops, Donald, for "Peace in our time." I'll be sleeping like a baby just like I did after the Iran nuclear deal.
Keystone Cop diplomacy.
For those too young to know search a YouTube.
Basically like going to a McDonald's, ordering a burger and they bring you a live skunk.
Nobody knows what the heck is going on.
Cause the manager, the overweight one who's constantly saying things you know are not true, is clearly out of his mind.
You see this clearly because you have a functioning brain. (others seem to have taken a drug that shuts their's off - can only hope the drug wears off)
Anyway, I'm sure nothing bad can result.
Live skunk… yum.
Fries with that?
1
When was the last time you believed anything Trump said?
5
I'm becoming unwilling to have my tax dollars pay Trump's appointees' salaries. If Pompey finds answering reasonable questions from the press insulting, he should resign. The same should go for Trump and Pence and Sessions, etc.
WE are the bosses in this game. Theses people are paid by us. And way too much, I might add. They act like they are doing us a favor. WE'RE PAYING THEM!! I have never worked for any organization that would continue to accept such impunity from an employee.
Surely the American people have some say in this. We need to make a myriad of changes in our election processes and the running of our government. As a nurse, I had to meet certain criteria for every position I applied for, including having the requisite education and experience to properly fulfill my duties. We need to institute such requirements for government officials.
3
I did not sleep well last night, despite Mr. President Trump's admonition that I and other Americans should do so. I have not slept well since I woke up to the realization that a man who has no loyalty to anyone but himself is the current President of the United States. While I was optimistic that he could achieve a meaningful breakthrough in North Korea, nothing I have read or learned so far has rewarded that optimism.
2
Hmmmm...peace in our time! Now where have we heard this before?
2
Why does the Times continue to allow Trump to control the narrative with headlines like these? This emperor has no clothes and it's long past time to just say it!
1
Let's keep an eye out for the Manafort and Cohen developments due "in a very short period of time." The current president will need some big diversion for this weekend.
2
Tump logic:
The person who owns rockets and nuclear bombs and has them pointed at you....still owns them and they are still pointed at you.... but you are now safe, they are no longer a threat.
Because I, your emperor, say so.
And I get a photo op for my sycophants.
Removing tump clearly remains our primary task. There are no adults involved in these so called negotiations.
Two liars issue statements that are meaningless. Vote the one we can vote on ... out. We might then survive.
3
It is KJU that will sleep well, after all the dictator ate Trump's lunch.
2
I never suspected it before, but now it is apparent that this POTUS smokes dope. He's completely delusional if he thinks that North Korea is changing its global strategy because DT is so charming.
4
More fake news from the fake president.
1
I'm highly suspicious of anything that Trump says. He lies with almost every breath about almost everything. Important or unimportant, it doesn't matter, he'll lie about it. So, somehow, I'm not sleeping well and I feel less safe thanks to his overblown reassurances.
8
Agreed.
3
We'll see a Trump Resort on the beaches of North Korea before North Korea denuclearizes or there's ever any independent verification of the North Korean nuclear program.
2
Now the that North Korea thing is resolved, we can get back to investigating the real threat to our country, Clinton's email's
3
Next up: Donald J. Trump proves that the sun revolves around the earth, and that people disappear when he blinks his eyes.
1
Delusion, lies and a Trumpian world of fantasy and mirrors!
Nothing productive has yet been accomplished here BUT Trump has conferred legitimacy upon an evil, brutal dictator (whom he admires) who has mirdered, imprisoned or exiled to gulags millions of his own countrymen.
NK still HAS ALL OF ITS ASSETS, both nuclear and conventional. They still have one of the largest (if not THE LARGEST) standing army in the world which is perched only 30 miles from Seoul.
Trump has disgraced America by his avoidance of any finite plans or demands about arms or human rights - while conning his base to garner votes in the mid terms.
This Rovian fear-mongering (the same technique used during the Bush campaign when Carl Rove was his purveyor of fear) has perverted many fake American views of reality. His propaganda machine is working overtime in conjunction with the Russians toward an eventual suspension of Constitutional rights and martial law - just like Hitler. He will declare credible news media enemies of the State and use his Congressional minions and TrumpTV to validate Imperial control of the military claiming a national security disaster. To the end, he has already begun to erase truth from government (OUR government) web sites and data, cripple OUR Justice Department, alienate our allies and place his criminal minions (take, as a typical example, Pruitt) in critical government positions. SOCIOPATH!
6
All that and Trump only rates a SOCIOPATH! Surely he and Hitler deserve something a little stronger for destroying entire countries, if not the whole civilized world.
Dear Mr. Trump, you got played.
5
Truth.
"Peace in our time." Neville Chamberlain, 1938, after signing the Munch Agreement with Hitler.
“There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.” Donald Trump, 2018, after signing the Singapore Agreement with Kim.
What do they have in common? Both are pacts signed knowingly with proven pariahs.
Are we safer now than England was in 1938? Trump says yes, "Sleep well tonight." Facts and History say no. You decide.
2
Art of the Deal Don was conned big time by the little Rocket Man. We have a total and complete moron for President who believes the earth is flat, 1 + 1 does not equal 2, and does things based on how he feels in his gut. Worst of all, he's a Russian mole. Is there nobody left in this country who has a firm grip on reality, or is this all just a horrific "reality show" that I'm watching?
3
I feel it only fair to withhold judgment until such time as we can be certain that 45 has read the entire joint statement - Possibly Post-Mid Terms?.:)
The threat never was from North Korea and its erratic, murderous dictator, but from our own erratic, narcissistic and egomanical president who befriends despots while angering and alienating our long time allies.
4
Didn't we hear the same from George W. the son of the former leader of the CIA, about Russia?
Excuse me for not buying in to your lies and insanity, Donald.
1
Given the clown in the White House, it is a wonder anyone in America can sleep at all.
1
Simply more puffing up of the DJT ego!
How long must we endure his stupidity and that of his backers?
1
North Korea will never, ever give up it's nuclear weapons. It was those weapons and those ISBNs which forced the US to the negotiating table. That kind of leverage can't ever be abandoned when you have the examples of Libya and Iran staring you in the face. Anyone who thinks otherwise simply isn't looking at the same facts as the rest of us.
I think the Canadians should acquire some nuclear weapons and point them at the US and then maybe Trump will stop trying to bully them.
2
Deed by Proclamation. How totally Trumpian!
1
Reagan famously used the phrase, "trust, but verify". Yet Donald fails miserably anytime anyone tries to verify anything that comes out of his mouth. This is the same guy who declared that cheesy real estate seminars deserved to be called a "university" - until a twenty five million dollar settlement for fraud said otherwise. He said he would release his tax returns "after the audit", and we know how that turned out. So when he says the nuclear threat is over, obviously, we should just take his word for it.
2
Trump was always the threat. It's a big game to him and he knows he can easily fool at least 40% of the people. Kim actually neutered him because he is no longer a threat to start war with North Korea.
Now we see the republicans scrambling to justify the weakest negotiation in history. If we were living in the revolutionary era, they'd all be fighting for King George because they certainly want a king.
1
As long as Donald Trump is President of this country. no one should "sleep well tonight" Kim is the least of our problems.
2
We are going around in circles with North Korea. Denuclearization has been attempted numerous times with them with enticements through the “Sunshine Policy” from South Korea and monetary rewards. The Kim regime has used the cash infusions to carry out surreptitiously more and more nuclear missiles development and other WMDs.
My guess is that NK needs more cash, likely run out of money now to further their WMD weapons programs and decided to go through this ruse as they’ve done in the past to extract more enticements, this time from none other than the president of the USA.
I can see Kim Jong Un rubbing his meaty hands together in sinister glee as he’s trying to con the Don, who’s going to be so easy to dupe. For Kim, amassing WMDs - nuclear, hydrogen bombs, chemical, biological weapons to threaten its neighbors and the USA - is the only way to perpetuate his regime’s survival in his own country. Sadly, now with the Singapore Summit, he has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams to further his evil plans.
2
What comes next?? There is nothing to come next for Trump. He got his photo op, his great ratings, Op success! Everything else is irrelevant to him.
1
We've just won the first game of the semi-finals and people are already celebrating as if we won the championship. Its both sad and scary that so many Americans are so easily duped by such simple propaganda. We truly are a nation of suckers and simpletons.
Like everything else Trump does, this is all hat, no cowboy.
2
"When a reporter pressed for more details about how it would be verified, Mr. Pompeo grew testy. “I find that question insulting and ridiculous and, frankly, ludicrous,” he said."
Gosh, Mike, get a grip. Verification is only the actual test of disarmament.
Remember us sending teams to Russia to cut up those ICBMs with big metal saws? Make up something like that, a great visual.
"Sleep well?" I will sleep well when Trump is no longer resident of the Oval Office.
3
So, six nations, all U.S. allies (once), got Iran to agree to international inspections that stop their processing of bomb-making nuclear material but Trump unilaterally trashes the agreement, increasing the danger of more conflict and bloodshed in the Middle East.
Now, the Imperial Wizard Trump and his bellicose Secretary of State Mike Pompeo get angry at reporters, the free press that Trump called the "nation's biggest enemy," who only wanted to inform the American people about the details of the N. Korea-U.S. summit talk when Trump emphatically declared an end to the nuclear threat on the Korean penninsula.
Nothing was put down on paper that verifies the denuclearization of N. Korea nor was a single word spoken about the brutal Kim Jong Un's massive human rights violations that include murdering of his opponents and critics, jailing of over 100,000 and the suppression and control of the media and press.
The lack of details, Trump ludicrously asserted, was that he "didn't have time" to do this during his one-day meeting with the dictator Kim Jong Un whom he praised to the high heavens.
No matter. Trump brayed that the nuclear threat has been "removed." It was a great photo op and made-for-tv celebrity dog and pony show but who cares about the truth in this lying, treasonous Trump junta where fantasy and propaganda reign supreme?
3
Answer me this... How in the world can anyone "sleep well tonight" knowing that Donald Trump is still the president of the United States?!?!
2
There is the lingering question with everything as to the administration’s preparedness, especially Donald Trump's.
And their truthfulness. Particularly his.
Why would he lie before the meeting about opening the giant sized letter from Kim Jung Un when it was delivered to D.C.?
That was the start of this process--------> a lie.
1
Nothing more than a mid-term PR effort to motivate the Republican base for November. Might work. The mass electorate cherishes its ignorance. No hard thinking here!
Another ingenious revelation from inscrutable Mr. Trump. He says whatever corresponds to what he and his intended audiences want to be true and does not worry whether it is true. If anyone talks enough plausible alternatives without bothering about how likely that they are to happen, just by luck some of them will actually correspond to actual outcomes. For anyone gullible enough, one such coincidence amongst the many mismatches proves Trump’s amazing insights.
North Korea is ready to go to war, all the time, and it has nuclear warheads and long range missiles to use. There has been no peace treaty and no agreement for disarmament nor standing down by anyone.
Trump is telling Americans what to think not what happens to be true. It is insulting. I resent being treated like a fool by this overbearing person who presumes to have authority that he does not.
3
Why do I suspect that Kim is quietly chuckling to himself right now?
1
We now have an inkling as to what the conversation was in Singapore: Kim to Trump: "tell your people what you think they want to hear. If anyone objects, well you could just try to discredit them.....if that doesn't work, call me, I've got some fool proof ways of getting my point across."
Trump, Pompeo and the other 'voices for the administration' will continue to be woefully unprepared to answer simple questions about the verification process for denuclearization and their believers will smile the smile of Mike Pence.....sleep well indeed!
2
North Korea's no longer a threat? I wonder if they'd agree in Seoul or Tokyo. All a statement like that proves is that Trump is either grossly ignorant, delusional or simply making random noises. The real problem is that nobody is sure which.
2
I'll "sleep well" when Trump is no longer President!
2
I wonder if Dennis Rodman taught Kim how to “high five” after torching the guy guarding him for forty points and a double-digit win.
Every day Mr. Trump parades his new clothes of the day and no child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"
1
Tyrants R'us. It takes a bully tyrant to love another bully tyrant.
1
This Trump ribbon cutting was ludicrous in its simplicity and follow-up: Two guys in a room without notetakers subsequently providing their own interpretation of a highly complex situation? Silly. NK unwinding three decades of nuclear and missile development on a timeline clearly intended to serve Trump's reelection campaign? Insulting to the world. Trump's statements that we need not worry anymore about NK's nuclear and delivery status? Nuts. This about Trump's reelection and self-perceived legacy, period.
3
North Korea was never a threat to US. But now we got one in the heart of America- White House.
2
I heard Trump took advice from Putin on suspending "war games," so that supports my suspicion Trump took dictation from Putin on the statement Trump dictated for Donald Jr. Sounds like the NSA has grounds for tapping Trump's phones, but since Trump refuses to observe proper security, anyone can stingray his tart strings.
Trump cited the War of 1812 to stab Canada in the back, but I bet Vlad had to teach him that.
Does Trump know that "Canada" sheltered those who plotted Lincoln's assassination? Beware the betrayal of actors, reality showman! Vlad can't lead you through every passion play you insist on taking apart.
I guess I'll just relax, ask no questions and take Donald Trump's word for it, that the problem is completely solved.
1
Folks, did I tell you I have super powers too, that I just made all nukes in NK disappear? I mean, my powers are so powerful, I will make America coal country again, I will even make Putin show up at in the Oval Office almost like magic. Every time I snap my fingers, I create a million jobs, the stock market goes higher, and Americans everywhere will see how much better they will be off without any regulations in food, air quality, water, and banking rules. I mean, I just snapped my fingers and America got a big pay raise. Tomorrow, I will snap my fingers and everything Obama did will be history, and even that I will make disappear. You can now start cheering and stomping your feet while chanting...Trump for President for life. I am so amazing and special, said El Loco.
2
The is less the Art of the Deal than the Art of the Schlemiel.
2
How utterly foolish and silly.,,."Sleep well tonight",,,,
1. NK is not in a position to launch a strike on the US no matter what the WH was telling us,
2. Does even the staunchest Trump supporter believe any real concrete deal was made in a few hours in Singapore? Really?
3. Does anyone really think Kim is about to dump China and Russia in favor of a grand alliance with the US? Or that China is going to set up huge trade deals with NK to weaken US sanctions?
4. And really, no we should not be sleeping well as Trump literally destroys the world order with nothing but aggression and lies. The rest of the world, and namely our former friends work against us,
2
I will not sleep well until this doofus and "Preacher Mike" are out of the White House. We gave up joint exercises with South Korea for what. Trump, according to most accounts, did little prep, boasted about generalities and spent millions of taxpayers' dollars on a "look at me" expedition.
Also, Japan and South Korea have the most to gain and to lose should this "show of shows" go south.
2
Our president condones restraining refugees who flee hostile regimes and punishing them by abducting their children, thus damaging the lives of each through extreme, inhumane means. He insults and thumbs his nose at former allies and friends of our nation because they won’t toe the Trumpian line on trade. He lavishly praises on Mr Putin and Mr Kim—both ruthless, authoritarian rulers of nations whose purported values are not in-line with ours. He broke a specific nuclear agreement made with Iran, yet signed a poorly thought-out one with North Korea.
And he expects this to help me sleep at night?
I realize that my thinking is not in agreement with Trump and his supporters, but Trump's Lullaby does not resonate with my ears. I would like to find a common ground upon which I can meet Trump supporters and from which we can work to come to some sort of agreement, but I’m not sure I can sink that low into the swamp without drowning.
Our president seems to be trying hard to reshape our lofty, but yet-to-be-realized, goal of egalitarian democracy into an authoritarian regime. I can’t understand how his supporters don’t see the inherent danger in the direction of his actions. He is a mean-spirited liar, a hollow flag-waver, a disgusting womanizer, a hateful racist—I could go on and on. At some point they may find themselves on the wrong side of an issue important to them and discover what they've given up in order to assuage his ego. I hope they don’t make that discovery too late.
3
Why the big lie? Its not about NK, SK or American security at all. It is about Trump faking triumph abroad to con American voters and keep enough supine Republicans in Congress after the rapidly approaching November elections so Trump can continue running amok without checks and balances.
1
The con man got conned.
He HAS to believe his unverifiable fantasy which is now controlled by Kim and NK's state media rather than facts. Kim has Trump by the delusions.
1
Why, is that the same dulcet tone of Neville Chamberlain....?
Mr. President, you wanna spin it for politics, fine. Just as long as you recognize what you say is inaccurate about NK no longer being a nuclear threat, or a threat.
1
Thank you, President Trump for eliminating the North Korean nuclear threat without having to eliminate any North Korean nuclear weapons! It's like magic! Next, please eliminate the cancer threat without actually curing cancer.
3
All Trump needed was a black umbrella to complete his Chamberlain moment, although I'm sure he wouldn't have understood the symbolism. I believe Kim is actually on the road to a significant decrease in N Korea's nuclear capabilities. Not complete denuclearization; I'm sure he'll hide away a few bombs. And he'll probably demand more concessions along the way. But I think Kim has realized that his nuclear weapons have already achieved as much as they every will and going forward it would prove dangerous to his regime to have America perceive N Korea as a growing threat. Better to push for reductions in American military support for S Korea, something that Kim Kim sees as something Trump wants. No one in the Trump administration seems concerned that even without nuclear weapons, N Korea's massive conventional forces continue to represent an existential threat to S Korea.
In all fairness to Neville Chamberlain, he wasn't fooled by Hitler. After Munich, Britain accelerated their rearmament efforts for a conflict they knew was coming. Chamberlain sold out Czechoslovakia in order to buy more time to build up Britain's air defenses. His tragic mistake was that he overestimated Germany's military capabilities in 1938.
Mr. Trump is fantasizing. De-nuclearization
won't happen unless Kim has hole in the head.
1
It's not North Korea that keeps me up at night!
4
North Korea has, as it did in 1950, the capacity to mass ten of thousands of troops on the 38th parallel and swoop into the south in a matter of days. Led by Kim's grandfather, North Korea did not need nuclear weapons to do this. It took three years for the United States and its allies to push them back and establish the armistice that exists to this day. The cost in human lives was horrific, with many missing in action still unaccounted for. The question for Trump is not posed by a nuclear threat, but by a territorial imperative by North Korea to unify the peninsula under North Korean control. For Trump to unilaterally abandon a military liaison with South Korea would cause the balance of power to shift, and increase the likelihood of war. Ignorance of history is dangerous.
5
They met and talked. We are a little safer because of that; no more, no less.
2
Mr. Trump is so eager for a win, he'll take one even if it has no substantive agreement to anything. Anyone who would call this farce a "relationship" is usually satisfied with less. Much less.
3
Nothing changed and Trump declares victory. Elections, economies, jobs, international arms negotiations... Doesn't matter what it is or how big a lie it is Trump automatically declares victory. What's worse is his supporters believe him.
8
NK may no longer be a nuclear threat, but the World's greatest nuclear threat remains. The US is the first to develop nuclear weapons, is the only country to have used them against an enemy in war, and still has over 4000 active nuclear warheads in its nuclear arsenal.
1
Bankruptcy-leveraging Trump has always been short on details. I won't "sleep well" til he, Pence, and their enablers are voted out of office — or jailed. Our spotlight-seeking reality star is painfully naive and ill-equipped for the painstaking work of diplomacy and policy. He's too busy envisioning 'Trump' golf courses and hotels along the waterfronts of North Korea and Russia.
2
With Iran legally building more centrifuges to concentrate weapons grade material, any deal with North Korea could not be worse than the sham agreement with Iran.
To say that North Korea "is no longer a nuclear threat" implies that it was at one time.
For NK to have been a nuclear threat, it would have needed to have the ability to place a nuclear warhead atop an ICBM, a warhead that could then survive re-entry into the earth's atmosphere to hit its intended target.
I am aware of nothing that would confirm that North Korea ever had developed such a capability.
2
So does this mean that the North Koreans will immediately stop demonizing the U. S. in their classrooms and public places? Will we now turn the tide on a decades old fear campaign indoctrinating North Koreans with the idea that we are the world's foremost evil? Will we suddenly be depicted as allies in an effort to help the Korean people? Somehow I'm reminded of a previous republican president who looked into the eyes of a certain Russian leader and claimed to have seen his soul. How did that work out?
3
I'm not worried about North Korea launching an ICBM with a nuclear warhead. Neither their missiles nor their nuclear weapons have proven to be very reliable. Plus, to do so would mean the end of the country, and the regime, forever.
I am worried about the regime selling fissile material ,or even a working nuclear weapon, to a terrorist group, where it could pop up anywhere in the world.
I don't believe for a second that the illiterate, McDonald's gulping dotard has actually solved the complex geopolitical situation on the Korean peninsula. What will happen is that China, South Korea, and the United States will give DPRK cash and food aide to tone down the nuclear program for a short time, so everybody feels safe.
This is the same thing that has happened a number of times before. I'm sure Trump asked them to at least behave until after his reelection campaign.
5
"Trump Sees End to North Korea Nuclear Threat Despite Unclear Path" What has he ever seen clearly. And when has he ever had any path. He wanted a photo op and a distraction, an opportunity to be seen favorably in the international limelight. His knowledge of treaty history with NK, as he said to Susteren, goes back three weeks. He's suddenly concerned about military costs when his cabinet has spent millions on toys, flies on military jets, military parades, and he himself has spent more on vacations to his club than any other president—all of this without any record of visitors.
Why are we only concerned with the nuclear capacity of this one authoritarian?
2
If we consider the invasive influence by Russia in the 2016 election a problem, we can look forward to more of the same. It will benefit not only Russia but China as well for Trump to remain in office. I never thought that we would be invaded by axis troops arriving in tanks and with weapons. But I have read enough spy novels to understand how completely we are losing control of our Democracy. 9/11 was a warning...but we didn't go after the nation of the perpetrators, but instead hid under the pretense of removing Sadam Hussein to get at the oil in Iraq. That went well...enter ISIS. Then we have an election that was manipulated by nefarious means in a 21st Century attack, and nothing has been done about it...we have a president who seems quite content to live with the results. Trump thinks he has had a big win...some ink on a meaningless agreement. The rest of us better keep vigilant, because our Democracy is hanging by a thread. Get involved...protest, resist, use your voice and your pen, and use your energy to vote and get others registered and to the polls. We ARE under siege, and it is dangerous because it is hidden. A win for Trump will be the visible wound that was engineered for unfriendly foreign powers, and Trump's base are the conscripted army. The rest of us and our Democracy will be the collateral damage.
5
I find it deeply troubling that Secretary of State Pompeo found a completely legitimate question about verifiability to be “insulting” and “ridiculous.” It most certainly was not. As we have learned from the case of Russia, verifiability lies at the very heart of arms control and nuclear arms reduction. As President Ronald Reagan famously said, “Trust, but verify.”
Pompeo’s intemperate reaction, so characteristic of Trump and his acolytes, can only mean that they have no answer and are attempting to cover up that awkward fact with bluster so that they can maintain the public relations aura of a meaningful nuclear agreement with North Korea.
8
According to the ex-CIA Heritage Fdn guy quoted, we're not quite back to where we were in 1994 and 2005 with NK. It's not exactly the great accomplishment Trump's trumpet is proclaiming. It may be the beginning of something, or maybe not; certainly Trump's blather is completely over the top, dishonest, and meaningless.
It's also interesting that Pompeo got so testy when a reporter asked a fairly simple question about verification, to which he clearly had no answer ... to an extremely obvious question that he had to know was going to be asked.
3
What happened to the news line several weeks ago that reported destruction of this site was because it was no longer viable due to repeated use? Does no one remember the horror of the Korean Conflict and the descriptions of the endless tunnels which accounted for the stalemate rather than a win for the South? So Trump says nuclear threat is over. First of all, until he started the "who has the bigger button" campaign and name calling, N Korea only did what it has done every time a new administration was elected in DC. Sure, we needed to address the escalating power of nuclear weapons. But to leave that to a guy who claimed that within 60 seconds he would know whether the summit would go well (and had just decimated decades of team playing with out allies) is a joke. If Trump had been hired as Kim's PR guy, he couldn't have done a better job. DJT has little understanding of international diplomacy and strategy. He only known one-off deals in real estate, and judging by his bankruptcy history (where he protected HIS pockets), isn't even king in that playing field. More has been accomplished from detente than all the chest-thumping hawk-speak. Unfortunately, Trump forgot that Kim spent time with Putin and Xi prior to even mentioning a summit. I don't think he went to China just for a cup of tea. So, no, we are not safer today. Just further buried under a heap of lies from an obviously mentally unbalanced president and a lackey Congress trying to get re-elected.
6
There is a clear path to treating North Korea like it's nuclear weapons peers. And treating North Korea like a nation in a civil war.
There is no North nor South Korea. There is only one ethnic sectarian historical Korea divided by socioeconomic political civil war backed up by big foreign powers. There was no American Nory Federal Union nor South Confederacy. No East and West Germany nor North and South Vietnam.
Unlike the nuclear weapons rogue nations, Israel, India and Pakistan, North Korea is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has nuclear weapons. Just like America, China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom.
2
Sad but funny.
Dotard has been rehabilitated.
Rocket Man no more.
Abandoning South Korea joint military exercises will allow Trump to slash the proposed FY 2019 $681 billion budget from the savings.
With the new detetente Trump will be able to develop Villas At Pyongyang Shores with assistance from Vladi and friends
Trump has paved the way to secure and lasting treaty unlike the highly vulnerable Iran accord.
Kim has become DJT’s newest BFF.
And I smell Nobel Peace Prize!
2
However Russia could be. After all our nuclear buildup has been in reaction to Russia's nuclear might and not to Iran, N Korea, etc.
If what Trump says is true, I don't see any problem sending the North Koreans the GPS coordinates for Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania..........and of course all the usual suspects like Texas, Kentucky, and Arkansas.
1
Just like all other reality tv - nothing real happens while huge numbers of people stay glued to their screens. I prefer watching a football game or a royal wedding - something gets decided.
2
Good morning Mr. Trump. Now that you have the door open to North Korea (NK) you will need to find a way to provide them with the motivation to move on to where all sides win and here is a suggestion on how to accomplish this task.
To start, however, you will need to motivate American multinational corporations to invest in NK where they in turn will benefit from the following deals:
1) For every corporation which invests in a manufacturing and/or assembly plant in NK creating at least 2000 jobs the government of NK will give to the US one nuclear warhead which the US will destroy.
2) A minimum wage in these plants will be set to equal 1.5 times the current average wage in NK and this will be updated each year.
3) NK will also destroy one non-nuclear weapon, starting with those closest to Seoul in South Korea, for every employee who is hired by these corporations.
4) The profits made by these corporations will be shared with the NK government creating a 25% corporate tax rate which will be paid quarterly to the NK government.
5) Once this is working, and this will be a few years, the US will be able to reduce our military costs in at least part for that area of the world.
Also, NK will not have to worry as much about a US strike as the applicable American corporations would be hurt. Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un would become a real hero.
(For the complete version visit my Facebook site)
What you propose is to pay a blackmailer.
Not sure which of the only two possible scenarios is worse -- that Trump truly believes North Korea is "no longer a nuclear threat" after a deal that accomplished nothing concrete or that Trump is knowingly lying to the American people about the threat posed by North Korea, which certainly exists as long as they have nuclear weapons.
3
Trump was wrong about the end of the threat from North Korea. It is now diminished since they are talking peace (no I have not forgotten Pearl Harbor or Munich) but it was a foolish phrase. The media typical seizes on Trump's excesses and ignore the main thrust of the story; namely that Trump, instead of launching airstrikes on North Korea, as I heard predicted ad nauseum( " He's going to get us into a war") has begun a process that may, in time, lead to peace on the Korean peninsula and denuclearization. Has it been attempted before and failed as North Korea failed to live up to its commitments? Yes. Will this time be different because of Trump's different approach? Time will tell.
2
Let's see. No definition of denuclearization; no timetable; no verification; no mention of ICBM dismantling; no mention of taking conventional artillery aimed at Soeul off hair-trigger status; nothing about human rights abuse; no apology for the family of Otto Warmbier. Ponder what his family must feel about the gushing praise just heaped by our president upon this brute.
For this we voluntarily removed a crucial anchor of American and Asian security from the world's hottest flashpoint and we accord the dictator of an all but failed nation, who is perhaps the world's most brutal tyrant, equal status with the most powerful and civilized nations on earth.
Slaying family members with anti-aircraft machine gun fire? Poisoning a half-brother in foreign territory with an internationally banned nerve agent? Killing another nation's soldiers completely unprovoked with submarine torpedoes? Launching missiles into the civilian areas of a non-combatant neighbor? Conducting cyber warfare worldwide? Hey, everybody does it; what's the problem? Anyway, Kim is a really funny guy. Very talented. He makes great deals. You see, the President has a gift for sizing up mass murderers in a minute.
Just imagine this for a brief second. If Barack Obama had returned from Singapore with such a deal the Greek chorus of the GOP would have screamed bloody murder without cease, without mercy, and without a scintilla of shame.
Donald Trump himself would have ripped-up such a deal in a heartbeat.
12
Er .... Peace in our time? Didn't someone go home singing that song once?
If it’s any consolation, Mr. Schumer, as a life-long Democratic in the image of my father, last night I went to bed praying that NK would instead after meeting with Trump only ramp up its nuclear weapons production, out of honor to him and your Party. Happy Father’s Day.
I'm a little curious what the response would be if this was all on Obama's watch.
2
Another Peace Prize and other complimentary gameshow parting gifts, naturally.
For being supposedly so worldly president Trump is incredibly naive.
1
Isn't this possibly an attempt by Pompeo to sabotage the agreement? To refuse to relax any sanctions at all until nuclear disarmament is completed would obviously be unacceptable to any nation, giving everything up for nothing in exchange, as Trump is accused of. It won't fly; the agreement won't get off the ground. Whether or not Trump notices and fires Pompeo, he's going to lose a lot of points (and any hope of a Nobel prize) when the agreement falls through. And we're all back in the danger zone.
In my opinion the military hates the prospect of an agreement. Its prestige, promotions, and funding for equipment, war games, etc., are all dependant on exaggerated fear of pariah nations; they can't afford to let one cease to be a danger. It's their raison d'etre.
1
After NK perfected missiles to carry the warheads, the game was over and the remaining step, the single point, was to use them to extract whatever Kim can get. Trump happened to be in the WH and took the bait with no plan. He had no choice but to open talks and see what the boy-thug wants or isolate it like Cuba for 50 years.
There will be no de-nuclearization: Kim cannot trade away his one strategy. It will be a cold peace. Kim will balance and play China against the US, to the detriment of his people, Taiwan, SK, Japan, etc. The only game piece left is Taiwan which China wants. Wait, and it shall be de facto gone as China grows so powerful the US cannot defend successfully Taiwan. Hand it over, let it become a China re-education gulag camp, and get China to pressure NK to de-nuke and unite with SK. Only problem is.... Kim won't. The Cold War will be paying these kind of "benefits" for generations more to come.
I emailed my own Rep my fear she was a target of some pretty insane folks encouraged by a lunatic fringe in the media, and she got shot at the Safeway. I can imagine a few military folk who see Trump as a Caesar about to destroy a Republic. Pompeo knows if he lets Trump blow as hard as Putin tells him too, he's gonna get righted by a lunatic with a mission to stop Putin's penetration of our leadership.
Also worth noting that the Times needs to take a much more cautious approach to how they frame the things said by Trump.
For example, the first paragraph would be far more informative if it was reversed:
"President Trump declared Wednesday that North Korea is “no longer a nuclear threat” to the United States even though the two sides had yet to forge a concrete disarmament plan and offered incomplete accounts of what they agreed to during this week’s summit meeting in Singapore."
That should, at the very least, be:
"Even though the two sides had yet to forge a concrete disarmament plan and offered incomplete accounts of what they agreed to during this week’s summit meeting in Singapore, President Trump declared Wednesday that North Korea is “no longer a nuclear threat” to the United States."
Facts and reality should always come before conjecture.
5
Why can't the Times simply come out and say what everyone knows?
Trump's words have no meaning - this is the 'truthful hyperbole' Trump is notorious for. It has no connection to facts or reality - it's just noise to fill the void around Trump with happy talk about how wonderful he and everything he does always is.
The North Korea meeting was just another episode in Trump's Reality Show presidency, designed to boost ratings. It has no substance, other than as entertainment for his base and a poke in the face of his enemies. Plus, it made his good friend Vladimir happy.
Just watch - Trump is already looking for the next right shiny object to distract everyone with - including the Mainstream Media. Stop being so gullible.
3
What would the luminaries on Fox News be saying if Barack Obama as president had visited with Kim Jong Un, praised his negotiating acumen, dismissed his atrocities, and--having secured no change in North Korea's nuclear capacity--told Americans that the threat posed by North Korea is over?
2
Mr. Trump forgets that the real threat was not N.Korea but Russia and China who have developed Hyper-sonic missiles to carry nuclear weapons and we have no treaties with them on these missiles. Americans are sleeping well and it may be he himself who had problems with the Korean leader for saying bad words.We should immediately pull our troops out of Syria,reduce our forces in S Korea and cut down un necessary military exercises all over with other countries and save tons of money that can be used to uplift our own communities,make our bridges safe and make America look beautiful around large cities and elsewhere.at home.
Maybe Trump can get from Kim the secrets of the popular North Korean diet to take care of our national obesity crisis. On the other hand, maybe that secret is kept from Kim. My apologies for an off-point comment but the recent Singapore event seemed off-point itself if it was supposed to address nuclear weapons in a serious manner.
1
The agreement with Iran, which included elimination of enriched materials, shut down of purification facilities, and verified by intrusive on site inspections was a terrible deal; but a two hour meeting with Kim and North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat. When you are a stable genius these things are easy.
7
Trump has never met a despot he didn’t love. He equates authoritarianism and absolute power with “toughness”, “great leadership”, and “love of his people”. Consequential bully (and worse) behavior are justified and even honored. The sekf-serving act never ends and all the premature hyperbole adsent details and verifiable progress is designed to prop himself up as a Peace Prize hopeful. When will America Wake Up Again?
9
Kim Jung Un flatters Trump, and DJT thinks he can size him up in a very few minutes. Trump has traded the family cow for a handful of beans, which he believes will grow into a love affair between our two countries. Trump's been wrong before, but has had the bankrupt courts to bail him out. This time, he's not betting just a luxury hotel but America's security. Never trust a salesman who says, "Just trust me."
See: RevolutionOfReason.com
TheRogueRevolutionist.com
15
Mr. Pompeo, I find that answer insulting and ridiculous and, frankly, ludicrous.
18
I am not a specialist on international agreements, but I suppose that the documents that were signed were written in both English and Korean. Many words used in one language may well have slightly different nuances in another language. A close reading of the Korean document, in either the original or as reprinted in Korean news media, may indicate differences in meaning were they to exist.
5
I won't "sleep well" until that maniac is out of power. I am referring of course to trump. He is the danger threatening world security and peace.
20
This fool has achieved nothing and has been played...perhaps his weakness and complete dishonesty will accidental serve the region once he and his fellow fools realize the game. Why is john Bolton still employed?
11
Really? I am tired of what Trump thinks. NYTimes, you need to focus on what Trump does. What he thinks is, more often than not, not moored in reality.
10
Directly quoting Donald Trump is giving him free advertising on his one-man circus show. The media - including the NYTimes gave the man a hundred million dollars worth of free ads during the campaign and continue to give him free reign on propaganda as he dismantles the U.S. Constitution.
9
Sleep better....one of the funniest tweets I've seen in a while.
Thank you, oh exalted one.
10
The Secretary of State has a fundamental problem understanding how our government works, yet presumes to have mastered negotiating with North Korea? The Free Press acts as the agent of the American people, asking the questions and seeking the answers from government "servants" about their intent on behalf of those same American people. We want the truth and straight forward answers not "pompous puffery". When government officials get testy about having the light of day being shined on their intent we have good reason not to sleep at night.
8
At this rate, Trump will soon deliver Kim an unconditional surrender to the Korean War, and then brag about the white flag as he waves it around.
5
Every President since Truman failed to so much as shake hands or meet with NK.
What did you all expect? One afternoon in Singapore and Trump would fly home with all of Kim’s nukes safely on Air Force One?
This is the first chip of ice off the glacier that has stood for sixty years. It’s going to take some time.
But go ahead and wish for failure, he does wear the wrong color tie after all. I’m sure you’d be doing ritual sacrifices and running naked through the streets if it were Barack Obama’s hand clasping Kim’s, no matter the relative lack of progress.
1
"What did you all expect? One afternoon in Singapore and Trump would fly home with all of Kim’s nukes safely on Air Force One?"....But Trump said that after the talks North Korea was no longer a nuclear threat?
One would expect substance over form. Use President Trump's criticisms of the Iran Deal to evaluate his agreement(?) with North Korea. Try to gain some objectivity.
1
Obama never tweeted that we should all sleep well because Iran now has nuclear arms but there's a good chemistry between both leaders so we'll fix this during the next years.
What he did was working VERY hard, without all the usual GOP pomp and circumstances, and then refuse to declare "mission accomplished" years BEFORE anything was accomplished.
THAT's how you obtain deals where an enemy country accepts full denuclearization.
Today, nothing indicates that Trump is capable of doing the same, so could you please explain why a mere Trump handshake somehow should make us sleep better at night ... ?
Trump essentially extended his congratulations to Kim. "Welcome to the club sonny. Getting all those nukes was quite a feat. If only Donny could have turned out like you. You're the son I wish I had. Maybe we can do a joint condo venture along those beautiful beaches some day." Beyond surreal and yet this is the reality. And of course he loves freaking out the liberals. That's goes hand in hand with anything he says. And he knows his base loves seeing the liberals freak out which only makes them love him even more. And so the "show" goes on. The principles and values of western civilization being dismantled to the delight of the entertained masses. It's a party on the Titanic. Will the wake-up call come soon enough?
8
The entire nuclear scenario was a farce. The only threat was if there had been a nuclear accident. Trump, in his craziness, would go to any extreme to be nominated for a Nobel prize. Vote the GOP crazees out!
3
Trump and Kim built a nice little Potemkin village for the rubes of the world to gloat over. Kim knows that once he gives up his last H-bomb he's got no more leverage and has to trust the US will not return to SK. If US does return with troops stationed in SK his regime will be in peril. I just can't imagine a tyrant like Kim to give up his leverage over the US. Kim thinks decades ahead in his strategy, but Trump thinks only about his base and re-election. Kim thinks about tomorrow, while Trump can't get past today.
3
All hat, no cattle.
8
He's just so ignorant and lacking in the knowledge, skills and experience required to be president. I'm sure if he applied for a job in a Fortune 500 company he wouldn't get it. What does America even stand for anymore? How one imbecile can tear down a global reputation that took centuries to build, in such little time, goes to show how fragile we are.
8
Sure he does, he's a pathological liar sociopath and unscrupulous salesman. Plus, he needs a deflection from a potential disaster for him(but great for us) if Michael Cohen sings like a songbird. The statement he and the other madman who signed it, ruthless dictator and murderer Kim, is weak and pathetic, vague with no guarantees. Some "art of the deal." Only his deranged, cultish base will believe him. This is madness and further evidence that Trump does not have the temperament to be president and is unfit to serve. He is the gravest threat to our democracy and national security. He is the enemy and the press is the only group holding him accountable.
15
Indeed. Several of those past deals put him in bankruptcy court where his nefarious attorneys probably paid judges dearly to finish the deal. How many times can someone declare bankruptcy and still remain a million- or billionaire?
1
The sad thing is, Trump's electorate gobbles his fabrications like manna from heaven. Fealty to a chimera can't possibly last very long, can it?
14
We can only hope . . .
What a sorry collection of blubbering fools the Republican Congress is to imagine there is any method at all to Trump besides sowing chaos.
1
Just another example of Trump's fake news.
6
"Fake it, till you make it!"
Words uttered by every hustler, conman and grifter.
Only trump et al go one step further.
Threaten them, then make them sign NDA.
Pay them off.
8
How will our own Dear Leader respond when he realizes he’s been had? Surgical strikes or all out war? Will South Koreans be informed prior to the attacks, or is it better to keep them guessing?
2
Under Trump's Free Trade Agreement with Russia, we are going to see amazingly low prices on Matryoshka Dolls and Vodka. By extending the FTA with North Korea, we will have unprecedented access to the Hermit Kingdom's population, which is ready for McDonald's and Krispy Kreme franchises while, in return, trading . . . low cost . . . dirt and aggregates and forms of entertainment that American audiences have never seen. I feel like a WINNER!
2
So let me get this straight. Kim still has his bombs, ICBM's and his regime is still in place but Americans can sleep well because he poses no threat. Yet here in the great white north our aluminum, steel and potentially cars constitute a security threat to the US. It' strange times we live in.
19
Any other president during the past fifty years could have done what Trump did, but knew better. You can't forge a lasting peace with a ruthless, mindless dictator bent on destroying the West. Kim is pretty bad too.
5
Makes you wonder why we waited so long to elect a superhero to save the planet. This was such a quick fix for our Prince of Peace. Now that we've checked the nuclear war box, we can move on to solving world hunger. Five loaves and a couple of fish should suffice.
1
I think we're starting to see just why it is that Donald Trump gave the management of his corporation to other people and decided to become a reality tv star instead: he's not interested in making deals. He's only interested in celebrity and making money.
Part of the Evangelicals in this country have probably known this from the very beginning, but voted for him anyhow as they appreciated his PR talent and supposed that thanks to the Trump propaganda machine, the GOP may win all of the next elections, and then truly capable, competent negotiators among elected conservatives with do all the deal making in Trump's place, as in the end, what they need is a president who signs bills into law rather than oppose them, and fire up the base, and that's it.
Those are also the Republicans today who aren't fooled by mere photo ops but who simply hope that this opening move can now allow real negotiators to start doing their job.
The problem I have with this kind of hope though, is that until now - and for years already - the GOP hasn't been able to get ANY deal done (except for the tax reform bill, but that was mainly a bill to reward their own wealthiest donors (and themselves, as we have a cabinet of multi-millionaires right now)).
No healthcare deal, no immigration reform deal, nothing.
And if they cannot negotiate any deal among themselves, how could they ever get a deal with our main enemies - let alone a GOOD deal ... ?
1
If there is a reason not to sleep well, it is the threat posed by the Trump Administration, not any foreign power.
8
Pompeo just said no sanctions relief until NK completes full denuclearization. Yeah, that's going to work.
I owe Rudy Giuliani an apology, he was partially right about someone getting down on their hands and knees to beg, but wrong on the person.
When I listened to Donald Trump praise Kim Jong Un, like he was his best new friend, I realized it was Donald Trump who was on his hands and knees and doing a lot more than begging him.
I hope Trump was wearing his gold trimmed bib to minimize the spillage when he was down there or maybe he let Mike Pence to the honors.
3
Well, I hope he's more right about this than he was about the Trump Taj Mahal.
6
There was never a nuclear threat to USA from North Korea. NK wanted nuclear capability as a protection against USA aggression. It got that when it demonstrated nuclear capability – the rest is theatre. The Theatre is not only by President Trump – it is by the Military Industrial complex and their enablers, and that includes President Obama and preceding Presidents.
The real hero of this theatre production is Moon Jae-in. He ran for the Presidency on a peace promise; his work delivered the two Koreas at the Olympic Games and delivered the rapprochement and has laid the foundations for unification of the Korean peninsula.
That will be the greatest challenge as the United States tries to avoid a peaceful resolution of the Korean War.
It seems to me that the Western Corporate media still does not get it.
3
Meetings like this between Presidents and tyrannical despots are simply a way for both leaders to look good for their people. They achieve nothing more than that. Kim will draw out the negotiations to denuclearize for years asking for more concessions from the U.S., which Trump will give, while not denuclearizing. Watch.
1
Trump says sleep well Americans. Not so fast. I feel less safe with him and the GOP in office . They are bringing back coal and more fossil fuels which our Pope Francis says recently an assault on our environment is an assault on humanity. He got all our allies mad at us over his tariffs which I don't look forward to the higher costs they will cause. Trumps daily verbal assaults on peaceful Americans is very disturbing. So he and the GOP way of governing is outrageous anything goes with them daily and that is causing more depression today in America. I will sleep better at night when he and his GOP are on the unemployment line.
2
“I find that question insulting and ridiculous and, frankly, ludicrous,”
This isn't the first time that Pompeo has snapped at perfectly legitimate questioning. He reacted in a similar way just a week or so ago during a congressional hearing. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it's not getting any easier. I thought he might rise to the occasion when he became Secretary of State, but a little scratching of that thin skin reveals the angry tea party hack still hiding within.
2
Rick, I think the rule is never to give anyone in the administration the benefit of the doubt.
How many years or even decades will it be before Americans can admit that our electorate, our political system, our media, and our blindness, bigotry, and power-hungriness allowed us to put a delusional, amoral, greedy man and his family in charge of what was the greatest country in the world? And now we are reduced to rationalizing and excusing his administration's behavior so we don't to face ourselves what what we have become in just over a year. For many of us the question now becomes do we find a way to stay here and cope with this dangerous madness or do we look to escape to a saner more honest culture in which to live out our lives? North Korea is a threat still--what kind we don't know for sure but Trump has validated Kim and made him an equal with the President of the United States. What will develop from that circumstance we will find out in few years. It may be something consequential, but more likely it will be nothing.
2
You do realize that many of the goods you purchase are made in countries that abuse humans. The day we traded US workers for workers in far-flung countries that had no benefits or labor laws is the day all those goods became tainted. If you purchase the goods, you are part of the problem.
Thank your US legislators and their lobby machine for agreeing on corporate tax laws that mixed human rights abuses and corporate profiteering.
It seems the Trump Doctrine is this:
"Give the appearance of something, without the actual something."
But many of us knew this before he even ran for office...
3
As long as Trump is in the White House I will not sleep well. In fact, so long as Pence is right behind him and the do-nothing Republican Congress is there, I and many others will not sleep well.
5
We are sinking deeper into the murky swamps President Trump promised to eliminate. Alternate facts, fake news all coming from this President to feed his ego and his supporters fallen for it. This meeting was a reality show made for TV having lacking substance and yet this president has the audacity to criticize his predecessors. Basic questions asked of Mr. Pompeo as to next steps were vexing and bothersome to him and he failed to provide needed answers.
Now we have post meeting rhetoric from President Trump boasting about saving the planet from threats and preventing war in spite of managing to create division in our country and alienating our allies while embracing the enemy. President Trump is the enemy within who will inevitably create and bring the destruction so many Americans fear.
2
I remember all the other times our country made progress wth North Korea, only to have our hopes dashed. At least our former leaders had the good judgment to be cautiously optimistic. Our current “leader” is so arrogant that he prefers his ignorance to study and his “gut instinct” to true knowledge. In his own words, “Sad!”
2
North Korea likes what happened at the summit. South Korea likes what happened too. The only people that seem not to approve is the Trump haters.
1
Nothing Mr. Trump says is the truth and he would prefer to be a dictator like Kim. As others have said, our biggest problem and liability is Mr. Trump and his regime.
Anything really bad that happens Mr. Trump will blame on Clinton, Obama and the Dems. If we survive Mr. Trump's regime the Dems will have years of cleaning up to do.
1
When a bona fide serial liar tells you that you can "...sleep well tonight" you'd better have both eyes open. One on him and one on NK. Already sprinting a victory lap before any details have emerged (and what we've already given up for what amounts to a photo op) Trump is down right dangerously compromised. And we're right there with him. I'm most concerned about South Korea, a country that has stood by us as a bulwark against Chinese/NK bellicosity, now at the mercy of our flip-flopping POTUS. Good luck sleeping.
4
I haven't slept well since Trump's inauguration and the nightmare of his administration's systematic dismantling of
the nation's traditional institutions and its seemingly calculated alienation of reliable allies. Trump's latest grand-standing video, photo-op, and subsequent claims are no more credible or reassuring than all of his previous boasts and threats and are hardly likely to induce care free slumber. In the meantime, I have no doubt that Trump will now sleep well as he dreams of that coveted Nobel prize .
2
It doesn’t matter what Trump has actually achieved here; only what voters think he has achieved. His base require nothing more than his word (and the prospect of triggering “libs”) to be certain of accomplishment.
2
"Somehow President Trump thinks when he says something it becomes reality". That's exactly what Trump thinks and he works very hard here at home to make it so. And our media and Congressional sycophants basically accept Trump's reality so no wonder he thinks his word is fact/real/the law.
Trump actively promotes this dissonance and gets away with it all the time. Why are things like 'fake news' even debated ad nauseum? Because Trump said it was so and we all followed down the rabbit hole.
So no wonder that Trump has asserted his version of what happened in Singapore. He will repeat his version of success often enough that his supporters will believe and the press or whomever questions the President will be labelled as Un-American and spreading lies.
This is how Trump plays HIS game. It works in America for him about 99.99% of the time. Kim Jong-un has a completely different game that will work for him at home too. Neither man was concerned with the details in Singapore. It was all about the photos. Each got what they wanted from the other.
Now for the hard work of detailed negotiations. Kim will be very involved back at home whereas Trump will leave it to his administration to do the hard work.
So its anyone's guess how this will evolve into a substantial agreement. Trump for his part is done.He got the pictures and hopes for the Nobel.
2
Interesting that all the politicians and pundits 'know' that it was a bad deal because Trump and Kim did not sign a magna carta. Perhaps with so little to go on, it might be wise to wait more than a two days before making such profound judgements. As the Zen master said, 'Well see'.
1
I am hopeful, as many are, about the summit result. We shall see if hope becomes reality. It would perhaps be unreasonable to hope this would lead to total global denuclearization but really that is the big picture, and probably necessary for creating world peace.
For South Korea, I think the Army should stay and continue as needed military readiness exercises. It will be a great day if someday they aren't needed, the Army can go home, and real peace exists between the two nations of Korea and the world.
It is only unclear to those who don't understand and have not really followed the process, or are lying. Here it is Kim will either remove all his facilities and allow intense inspections or he will be out of power and probably dead. As they used to say by whatever means necessary.
Trump settled a $25 million fraud lawsuit just before taking office. He’s had numerous bankruptcies. His words mean nothing.
4
US military doctrine is that military threats are assessed based on enemy capabilities and not enemy intentions, since intentions can change in a heartbeat. DPRK capabilities did not change a whit during those few hours in Singapore, and won't be significantly changing anytime soon.
The basis of Trump's claim that US citizens can now "sleep easy" is an agreement over "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." But what does that phrase mean? Trump clearly believes it means Kim destroys its entire nuclear capability while the US puts its local nukes on a plane and flies them to Guam, where they can return in a few hours.
It's easy to imagine that Kim, after milking the ambiguity of the agreement for all it's worth, will declare that "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" must mean more, say US elimination of OUR nuclear stockpile.
Given Trump's demonstrated volatility and obsession with payback for imagined personal slights, the chance of conflict with North Korea would then increase exponentially.
In short, scant reason to be "sleeping easy."
4
I'm reminded of the big "yawn" Obama received when he actually terminated the Right's #1-most-wanted (Osama bin Laden). That didn't seem to matter. But in today's tweet-a-rama world, Trump can claim victory for almost anything, and we're supposed to be impressed?
5
What frightens me most is the sense that Trump is somehow responsible for a growing mass hysteria or even hypnosis among his supporters and even the Republican party, who continue to give him credit for things he hasn't done. He promised to repeal and replace Obamacare; didn't happen. He promised to build a wall; no wall. He promised to lower taxes for the middle class but his tax plan benefits the rich. He created a p.r. meeting with Kim Jong-un that was all optics but no substance. What he has done is all negative. He antagonized and is fostering a trade war with our closest allies. He supports barbaric dictators. He has trampled on human rights, partly by appointing judges and others who are undoing the advances made by previous administrations, partly by his immigration policies. He has denigrated the first amendment by criticizing the press so severely. I'm no economist but everything I've read in reliable sources suggests that he is just riding the coattails of an economy that had been growing for the better part of a decade. Is the country so desperate for change that every empty promise, every asinine statement he makes, is becoming truth?
9
One thing we need to understand is that South Korea is one of the richest nations in Asia. They have relied on the US for their defense while not paying near to what our military provides them. Trump knows this and Mr Moon of the South is realizing this also. It is a good thing to reduce our military in Korea. The South is well off enough to provide their own defense for their nation.
4
I could envision this scenario. Kim Jong Un on his secretive visit to China and his meeting with their leader. The leader tells Kim Jong Un that Trump can be easily flattered and drawn in to his orbit. Trump is not intelligent or knowledgeable. He rarely listens to anyone. He believes that he has an incredible ability to figure people. Actually in many instances he was a failure as a businessmen. What saved him were American bankruptcy laws. Trump is a man who could be fooled. Promise him that you truly want to denuclearize. For show you can do that to an extent. There are many places in your country where you can hide nukes. In that way you will get the sanctions lifted and get your country going economically.
That strategy has brought instant results. Trump announced that North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat. Stay tuned for the rest to happen.
6
Overblown showmanship that certainly wooed and dazzled Trump; this was little else than a lavish PR moment devoid of substance on the denuclearization of North Korea.
As for not repeating the mistakes of the past (according to the VP), what we have is 25 years of US failure regarding the NK and counting. This effort was clearly more of the same right out of the stating blocks.
Trump Zero, Kim gets an eight and a half.
1
It is all about the propaganda, not the truth.
6
The word, "historic," has been over used before the meeting and after.
Perhaps, a few years down the road, it could be used if the result of the meeting yields something, which I doubt, otherwise desist from using this word, "historic", until it does mean something momentous for the world.
3
Let's face it folks, Donald Trump doesn't have to prove anything about anything to anybody! Period. He wins the lottery every time he buys a ticket. His cable television supporters call him a genius, and even our elected federal representatives are unwilling to throw down the gauntlet to this guy. But the real problem is there seems to be no one who is willing or strong enough to burst his bubble. Hunker down, folks. It could be a long, hot summer.
3
I can't do this anymore. For 25 years I've been an avid reader. Through good times and bad. Through administrations from both parties controlling congress and the executive branch The NYTs has been my paper. I've even saved the paper from monumental events like on the morning of September 12th 2001. Just the other day I was going through some stuff and came upon the edition. "US Attacked" it read.
Now I have a digital subscription and read on my iPad. I love the format. I love being able to immediately access breaking news or forward an article real time. But the digital format also allows me to read comments from readers about an article. This is where the hate, mistrust and vitriol that has been fomented and stirred by groupthink is really expressed.
As a historian of course I know our discourse has always been fraught. But in the worst of times people came together as Americans. Not as Republicans or Democrats but as Americans. Now even writing those words will likely elicit hate from someone.
I certainly won't enter the echo chamber where ideas that agree with my worldview are the only ones welcomed. That's intellectually lazy and boring. Maybe I'll just reread Thomas Paine's "Common Sense." Although I'm sure its filled with unacceptable passages too. I do miss the days when we could listen, process and learn...together. We may agree to disagree but at least we would learn and maybe even be friends.
6
Everything about Trump himself in connection with this episode was totally predictable. In case anybody had any doubts about Pompeo, just look at his non-answer to a perfectly reasonable journalistic question. This kind of performance is why Trump wanted him installed, and Senators, thanks for nothing in confirming him.
4
The consternation by the liberal media is relentless. If President Trump walked across the Hudson River, the media would accuse him of being too lazy to swim. It's obvious to fair and objective people that the Korean summit was extraordinary.
2
It would be helpful if you would provide examples and facts to back up your statement. Just saying the summit was extraordinary doesn't make it true. Please explain yourself.
3
Thank you for your sane response.
If Kim actually does this,the only issue is how much money was he promised from the Trump business interests.
And vice versa.
Certainly he and Trump won't do this for "world peace."
Trump's declaration of the end of the Korean Nuclear threat makes "Mission Accomplished" look like the Treaty of Versailles.
8
This agreement is so inferior to the Iran agreement that it is laughable. How can Trump claim credit for such a toothless communique is beyond me.
9
I thought Trump did a good lob putting the South Korea situatuion on track for resolution, but his claim that the problem is solved is totally ridiculous, and in fact it is counter-productive. Nothing has changed. Now is the time the US should be hammering out the details, and SK taking the first tangilbe steps. Trump behaves as if there is nothing left to do when the process is really only just beginning.
The American people, Canada and Mexico, the rest of the G7 countries, South Korea and Japan, pretty much everyone except right Republiams, are reachinfg the end of the line with Donald Trump. But how will this play out?
As a Canadian I would like to see us take steps to become less dependent on the US. Too much of our industry in Ontario is a branch plant economy for US companies. Alberta sells oil to the US, at deep discount prices, while eastern Canada buys oil from the US at full prices - we need an east/west pipeline to cut the US out. We should terminate NAFTA and establish our own trade policies, which would be favorable to the US of course but would not be negotiated. What this has shown is that we rely too much on US trade, more than we need to i believe, and we need to change that.
“Sanctions will remain in place.”
Tell that to the Chinese and Russians. Sanctions by us don’t means squat unless those two are intent on enforcing their own, and both of them are already moving to relieve them.
3
"President Trump declared Wednesday that North Korea is “no longer a nuclear threat” …..Wow. They have discarded all their nuclear weapons, all the enriched material has been removed, the enrichment facilities have been destroyed, they have given up all of their ballistic missiles, and this has been verified by thorough examination carried out by on site international inspectors.
2
So, now this president tells us we can all sleep better tonight. This statement comes from the same man who told us we wouldn't believe what his investigators were finding in Hawaii pertaining to Obama's birth certificate. It comes from the same man who told us Obama wiretapped Trump Tower and that he had no idea who paid Stormy Daniels $130,000. And from the same man who told us over 3,000 other whoppers.
We know North Korean leaders haven't told the truth in decades. We know this president hasn't been telling the truth for years. So, consequently, I have no reason to sleep better at night. Two liars don't make the truth.
6
Just finished reading Robert Harris's novel Munich - a scrap of paper and "Peace in our time" rang a few bells, as did the descriptions of Hitler's corruption of the democratic system to rise to power.
As for the "deal", what of chemical and biological weapons, and the missiles to deliver them?
2
“You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face.” The Trump faithful are beyond redemption or reason or sympathy.
Maintaining two opposite points of view is impossible but is demanded when confronted by Trump’s Kim acquaintance and Trump’s denunciation of Obama’s Iran Nuke agreement with the UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, EU and Iran. Any and all criticism of the Iran “deal” is quintessentially absurd. Trump “puts on airs...slaps you in the face...exploits you” and says the Iran deal is the worst deal, and his supporters rush to defend Trump against “fake news”, the FBI, CIA. Trump demonizes Canada and the other G7 partners and raises taxes on them based on National Security while praising a global pariah, a murderer? Why? Who does Trump serve?
6
If Obama orchestrated a similar meeting would the responses from the liberal left be the same? I think not. Let’s not forget Obama got played NK, China, and Iran! That’s a lot of cud for liberals to chew on.
The Obama administration concluded a successful deal in Iran after many painstaking months of high level negotiations that was actually implemented and is working, despite Baby Man pulling out of it. And he did not praise the corrupt mullahs in the process.
Trump came home with a meaningless piece of paper and nothing has been accomplished, except giving the murderous dictator the legitimate he craves, yet he claims Mission Accomplished.
So to answer your question, Obama would never have been stupid enough to do what Trump has done, and no it would not be praised.
Does it bother you at all that he heaps praise on dictators and stabs our staunchest allies in the back? Or that he openly muses about becoming president for life and jailing reporters who don't add to his cult of personality? Or that he has destroyed American leadership and trust in our word and honor?
2
Has The NYT drunk the Kool Aid too? When I saw the day after headlines of "why this is important", I was dumb struck. Realizing that much greater, and better informed minds than mine were weighing in I settled for just being shocked. Now that such a large population seems to think there might be something to Trumps visit I just like to say, WAKE UP AMERICA! This is reality TV at it's most dangerous extreme. Nothing of meaning has happened. This is click bait, and only meant to serve Trump, and Kim. Nothing's been delivered to the real world. Only alarm bells should be sounding.
10
Hold Photo-op, declare victory, move on to another topic.
7
It's more than abundantly clear that we have an idiotic narcissist whose version of reality is highly questionable running the Executive branch of our government.
Not exactly our finest moment in history.
5
Pity President Trump. He thinks history is going to show him as a transformative, heroic figure. Instead it's going to show him as a con man and a fool.
3
Trump praises thugs and murderers. In Trump’s world, it’s okay if you get away with it.
We have a president who’s devoid of a conscience. Trump is the greatest threat to our national security.
10
I like consistency in my newspaper. It's a sign of honesty. If you attack one president for a stupid statement you should do it for all. If one man's stupid statement is praised, another is ignored, and another is attacked, my newspaper is silly putty. Here we are told that Trump is stupid for declaring success prematurely. I'll buy that. But no premature prediction this century was more notorious than Bush's claim of "mission accomplished." The Times headlined Bush's infamous speech "US Declares Major Combat in Afghanistan to be Over" -- a totally neutral account of the gaffe of the century. As for Obama, his ill-fated immigration regulation eliminating deportation of millions and clearly headed to a Supreme Court decision where the 4 liberals would stand alone in defeat, was characterized by the Times as a shoo-in for court affirmation. So Trump's stupidity is headlined explicitly, Bush's is ignored and Obama's is treated as brilliant. Silly putty.
1
10 bucks says DJT has a War Shelter ready and waiting under his Mar-a-Lago palace.
3
I refuse to join in his delusions.
7
What an absurd segment to make and so indicative of this man's inability to see reality.
The paper means nothing-
5
I know the NYT has to report on what the President says and does, which is why I'm so surprised that he garners so much attention from the press. He says nothing and does less. All he seems be good at is flying around the world, at taxpayer expense, shouting "look at me!". ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
4
How does one parse the "thinking" of a person who says that thousands of people asked him during his campaign to bring home the remains of their sons, Korean War soldiers.
Now, I'm probably just an ordinary idiot but if the average age of a solder in the Korean War was, say, 20, that would make the thousands of parents way over 100 years old.
A relative of my best friend's father was 17 when he went to Korea. He's 80 now.
1000s of centanarians, 1000s of them begged trump during the campaign and that didn't make news?
And of course as far as I can tell, apart from bloggers, this is ignored.
Now I know the job of reporters is to report, which often means parsing statements from politicians but really is trump and his administration anything more than a con job? Look at that other traitor Pompeo who pretends to get angry when even slightly challenged about verification with NK. Like, isn't verification what it is all about? These and the many many other lies and idiocy from the administration should be page 1; the should be the first questions reporters ask. I mean, when you treat the naked idiocy coming from trump's mouth as real statements you do America a disservice.
He's just a grifter. His family ($82 million in one year???) are grifters. His entire administration are grifters committing major federal crimes daily. Hello, prosecutors? State crimes, too? Hello D.A.s?????? Wake up, please.
9
It is clear that the Singapore accord is merely a sham! Designed to give the look of success while achieving nothing. It is show biz scenery on a stage.
We need reality and not a stage set.
8
Trump cures cancer. Democrats complain he should have done it faster.
Trump cures cancer. Times and Democrats warn of the dangers of people living longer.
Wait and see Shamrock how well yr Hero cures the Problems with NK, World Trade, National Debts, Immigration, not to forget the Midterms and his Reelection. Robert Mueller may help him
to find his way into his well deserved retirement.
1
Finally, someone has taken to heart Sen. Aiken's immortal and Solomonic solution to world conflict:
Declare yourself a winner and get the hell out, and never mind what was left behind.
Trump has worked on a close variant of that dictum by declaring a successful resolution of North Korea's atomic threat and flying away as fast as his super jet could move, leaving the monumental task of actually accomplishing something to someone else.
3
a simple solution for a simple man. (He's sooo cunning!)
Reagan sees end of Berlin Wall and Soviet Union despite unclear path.
For pity’s sake Trump has agreed to do nothing other than leave Korea with something kinda happening by
THE NEXT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
Trump has turned the empty
Promise to do something about North Korean nukes into the basis for his 2020 campaign.
And what does the Times do?
Miss the point.
Trump needs the Times. It is his hole card.
1
All the while our friends are now our enemies and Dictators our are friends. Why?
5
Trump has solidified his position as one of the great con men and scammers of all time.
1
on D day the times simply said 'the invasion of europe from the west has begun"...it also noted, with evident understanding, that eisenhnower's message was "terse."
can you image today's times...complaining about the lack of detail in ike's announcement, or whining about the lack of forthcoming comment on invasion plans before the actual invasion..."command secrecy! what's ike hiding?"..."why so many troops in open boats landing in daylight? why not more paratroopers in the dead of night? why were british citizens kept in the dark?"
no trump voter here but, maybe the times ought to look into the entire north korean venture, and the engagement of others in the effort, as potentially a new pattern (as opposed to the old hat failures of libya and iran and the ongoing iraq and afghanistan farragoes)...imagine, if things work out, what a prototype for dealing with future foreign policy crises there'd be...and if the process takes some time and needs tweaks, so what?
remarkable enough that the singapore days, with all the planning, coordination and communication therefrom were strong indications that our side has some talent in the game.
like him or not,trump has one thing over the supposed smarter guys before him, he understands that negotiation requires actual face to face talk.
that his talk may be too coarse for his critics, their personal attacks are worse, (see diniro, madonna and, btw, several nyt op-ed writers who regularly fulminate but rarely illuminate).
I agree with Trump that it would be very unfair to ask Kim to allow us to "verify" dismantling of his nuclear weapons! The man said he would do it! What more do we need to know? If Trump didn't believe him, would he have agreed to end those provocative war games and prepare 28,000 of our troops for their return home? This is "Peace in Our Time!" Why aren't people out celebrating on the streets? Where are the sailors kissing random women on Times Square? Where's our photo Op?
1
I believe I speak for millions of Americans when I say that I will "sleep well tonight" only when Donald Trump leaves office.
1
This is the same Man who gave himself and his Administration a '10' for the recovery effort for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. He absolutely loves to 'self' congratulate himself.
Naive and gullible - not exactly how Trump views himself....
Trump believes everyone is as easily deluded as he is.
“Sleep well”? “Mission accomplished”? Again? This is what we get when we send a reality show carny to do a diplomat’s job.
3
Sean hannity and the Faux News gang are cheering on the great summit, and the trumpista's are infatuated. Problem is no one can explain what was accomplished, and get incredulous when asked. Bob Corker is spot on, it's a cult, and no one can question what the great one does. Idiocracy accomplished.
11
Is it always about money? And ego?
We could bring troops home if a treaty existed that provided the confidence that their presence was no longer required.
No longer a nuclear threat? Sounds a lot like mission accomplished. Except Kim still has weapons and missiles to deliver them.
It must be something in the water. Or the cheeseburgers.
2
Mr. Pompeo grew testy. “I find that question insulting and ridiculous and, frankly, ludicrous,” he said.
Honestly, Mr. Pompeo, we feel the same way about you, Trump and this entire Administration after the meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jung Un! The United States will pay dearly for this disaster of a photo op, and display of a propaganda video to bolster any future business opportunities that is really what Trump is after!
14
Pompeo is another Evangelical shill for Trump. He is willing to sacrifice the security of South Korea and Japan to provide cover for Trump's failure to negotiate any solid guarantees from Kim of reducing his nuclear weapons or the means to make more.
Am I the only one going crazy watching the cable news and now the NY Times not telling the American people that Kim destroyed the remains of his underground nuclear test facility because their last test caused the mountain above it to collapse. He did not do this voluntarily or as a good will gesture. The last device they tested was more powerful than the facility could withstand.
3
Is this guy for real? Trump sees an "end" to the N. Korean threat based on one extended photo op/PR stunt? On Trump's watch -- in the next year or so -- N. Korea will most likely marry their nukes to their missiles and be able to reach the U.S. mainland. And
1
Like the conman, carnival barker that he is Trump is shouting a bunch of lies and his base is dumb enough to swallow it. Of course North Korea is still a nuclear threat -- all of their weaponry is in place and if Kim decided today to shoot a nuclear warhead missile at some country, he could do it.
Trump is the "mission accomplished" guy and he'll bask in this for a few days and then it will be on to some new bit of chicanery aimed at rousing the base.
His Sec. of State is such a "snowflake" that he immediately became aggressive toward the media when a reporter dared to ask a simple sane question. This administration has no answers, no substance just the usual flimflam game of throw it on the wall and see what sticks.
1
I find Pompeo's answer to be insulting and ridiculous and, frankly, ludicrous. Here's a West Point graduate standing up and lying to the world and getting caught, and all he could do was act like a defensive little twit. In so answering, he was insulting to the American people who are weary of watching this reality TV show Presidency that is more fiction than anything else.
2
Looks like Trump got taken to the dry cleaners, and not just the ones in my neighborhood.
This is all about ego, Trump’s quest for the Nobel (spurred in large part by his fevered, imagined competition with/jealousy of Barack Obama), and fascination with strongarm dictators who he admires for their ruthlessness and absolute power.
This has very, very little to do with furthering world peace, or making sure we all sleep better at night under a denuclearized sky.
This is all about Trump. As usual.
4
Trump doesn’t understand the status of NK or what it take to denuclearization or perhaps the meaning on denuclearization. Trump desires attention. If he were a child, it’s understandable but since he is a 71yr old man, he is definitely mentally deficient.
5
Pompeo's indignation to a question that he can't answer with the truth sounds an awful lot like a soon to be departed Sarah Sanders press briefing. Two ignorant people taking a cue from the boss.
4
NK ain't giving up nukes if they even have them,nor should they.
1
I'm sure that Kim and Xi frequently share good belly laughs, these days, comparing notes on how badly each of them have used the big, dumb, Westerner in Washington, so far.
Please fix the headline. Should be:
Pompeo Sees Big Steps to Disarm by N. Korea in Trump’s ONLY Term
Seriously, we all need to sign a suicide pact if anything like "2nd term" happens. And we know from experience with Kim and President Dump, that what he (and Kim) said/promised is light years away from truth and reality.
Aw, he thinks Trump's gonna get a second term.
Pompeo's pompous proclamations trump even those his boss (i.e. "Problem solved"). And what's up with Pence?
Get real guys... Kim is just playing with you. And he's winning.
1
What concerns me most here is that Trump, as a malignant narcissist, may well have already deluded himself into actually believing that he has solved in one visit the military and nuclear threat posed by North Korea. In turn, Pompeo, as a true Trump sycophant, stoutly reacts in anger when a simple reality based question is raised that endangers this fantasy. What we have here is an extremely dangerous folie a deux with the world today a far less safe place than it was before.
3
Trust, but verify.
Trump is an amateur who has surrounded himself with other amateurs. The North Korean deal in the style of The Apprentice is to be expected.
We have an administration that is completely incompetent and untrustworthy.
We have a Republican-controlled Congress that is paralyzed by and/or supportive of Trump's ignorance and extreme narcissism.
We have a Supreme Court majority that is busy assisting in the suppression if voter rights by the GOP.
Trump can bumble around with Kim and amuse his easily confused base but the headline news should be screaming daily in plain English:
"The US government is run by a one-party state and democracy is seriously threatened"
5
A 'mission accomplished' that somehow manages to be even more ridiculous than the last one we heard from an American President
2
The reason this deal with North Korea will stick where others have not is that the United States is now allied with Russia. That is something North Korea can understand. America has flipped and now the fate of world peace is in the hands of the Russian Mob.
Don't hold your breath.
1
Do you think Trump/Pompeo/Bolton have any clue that when North Korea agrees to “complete denuclearization,” North Korea means *America too*?
And if we don’t give up our nukes, neither will they?
And thus any “complete denuclearization” deal is DOA?
Trump got suckered.
4
There is something to say for the snake oil salesman in chief in that he got a lot of publicity out of this and so did the NK leader. Pretty good PR flim flam, even for him.
No one in their right mind should think that "peace" of any lasting variety will come of whatever it was he says they did. The man is con artist, but a stupid one. The people who worship him are even more clueless.
Wait two more years. By then the tax breaks for the billionaires will have hit home here. Things will be much worse for the people who voted for him and the anger will still be there but will be directed at Hillary and Obama (!) and not at themselves or Trump, who, by then, will have pardoned himself and anyone else around him who broke the law. He will work on changing things so he can serve another term and then another and NO ONE will stop him. Not one person had the guts to rally a movement against him that would stick. The folks in Congress who truly hate him dealt with it by quitting. Putin must be very happy.
Thanks to all the brainwashed people who voted for this horrible man and his grifter kids and friends. I will not feel safe as long as he is in office.
9
Our so-called president is crowing about his meeting with Kim. Of course dialogue is preferable to military conflict, but let's take a step back and see what was actually accomplished:
1. The US unilaterally agreed to stop Foal Eagle.
2. The US got no concessions in return such as North Korea pledging to halt nuclear tests and missile launches.
3. North Korea committed to "denuclearize", just like they did in 1994. How did that work out?
North Korea, China and Russia are laughing at Trump's stupidity.
1
Taj Mahal Casino.
It’s all you need to know about anything Trump says.
1
Once again, the Asian politicians have played Trump like a fiddle. They know he knows nothing, has an ego that is easy to manipulate, and that many Americans are equally ignorant. He can't see the repercussions of his actions and decisions - his only concern is himself and his reputation. It's how he's always run his life and his businesses: Trump first, everyone else very much second, third, etc.
So now that they have him eating out of their hands, the big question is what will be their next step: ask the US to pay back all the debt we owe them? require trade concessions? charge the US very high prices for manufactured goods? Other?
It's terrifying to watch our country and our society be shredded by this know-nothing, childish person and his equally ignorant followers.
1
I haven't slept well since he was elected and will not again until he and his ilk are gone.
4
nuclear talks without the one adviser every president had in the nuclear era. only confirms this is nothing but theatre, together with world cup, to retain control going into midterms and rebuild his base. https://nyti.ms/2MbR73L
Are we sure Trump and Pompeo aren't running Fantasyland at Disneyland? If not, theyre smoking the same mushrooms.
3
When Kim got back to North Korea, he told the people of his country that South Korea/United States war exercises were finished. He made no mention of the fact that he is supposed to turn over all of his nuclear weapons to the United States.
Trump was played for a fool.
1
I'll repeat: All sound and fury signifying nothing. Trump nor Kim care anything about the people they supposedly represent. Dog and pony show. Photo op. Next.
People hate trump (with good reason). But they are made blind to the things he deserves to be commended for.
Don the Con sets up another 'roll the rubes' theater. He will ship millions of taxpayer dollars to Kimmy, and Kimmy will tell us how he is denuclearizing. What a farce!
Then, just before the US election, Kimmy will start behaving badly, and Don will say 'Leave it to me.' Donny will then magically get Kimmy to be good again. Just in time to get the rubes to vote for this phony, who will then send more US tax dollars to Kimmy.
1
when Trump is gone then and only then will I sleep well
President Trump has had an amazing 500 days in office and has done an amazing job. Wall St. booming, jobs are plentiful, lowest black and Hispanic unemployment in history, illegal immigration down by 70%, tax cuts resulting in more American families bringing home more money every week, a great relationship with Israel, denuclearization of NK. All of these positive accomplishments is why the extreme left hates him.
It’s amazing what can be done when nobody worries who gets the credit. Obviously not a Democrat party platform.
Yup, pretty much what I thought would happen. Our lying criminal "deal maker" would take any crumb Kim tossed him and declare victory. Donald J Trump will get this country nuked someday and probably by the same nukes that he believes Kim no longer has...because Kim flattered him and told him so. Did anyone tell Trump that Kim made the same promises in 2005 with Bush? Only Bush didn't put up with the games when it became apparent that NK never had any intention of getting rid of it's nukes.
1
Trump lives in a fanatasy world where he thinks he's the greatest president and the media is terrible because he's criticised by them. And he's done nothing wrong. (all fantasies).
2
Trumps views every move he makes as a show---a 60 minute show with commercials---he produced and directed the N. Korea episode this week--it was a ratings success. On to a new show next week. You never want to bore the audience, so no show repeats a story line or starring characters. And, lets be candid the details of removing nukes is just plain boring. Just as boring as the other show in town which for Trump is running far too long with low ratings---that would be the Mueller investigation.
Whatever is the point in stating what Trump "sees"? This is not responsible journalism. Report what is, and omit what Trump "sees". Limit your reporting the facts, please.
Amazing how easy it is to con a con man! Our fearless leader gratuitously gave up our military exercises to the jubilation of North Korea and China in exchange for absolutely nothing! Is this the art of the deal?
1
It always amazes me that Republicans, including the Press Secretary, Congressional leaders, Cabinet Appointees, Republican advocate talking head types and even evangelicals never answer uncomfortable questions that would involve a truthful answer. This has been the case for sometime now, but has gone completely over the top since the day America as we know it died on November 08, 2016. Truth and facts simply don't matter with these people and their ability to change the narrative, the topic, or attack the person asking the questions has hit historic levels. The only Republican politicians that do speak out are those that are retiring. And it doesn't matter whether the subject matter is foreign policy, domestic issues, violations of existing laws, lies spewed from the President himself or any other issue including obstruction of justice. Bob Corker was right. It is a cult like atmosphere and is so toxic that it rivals Joseph Goebbels and Joseph Stalin's propaganda machines that facilitated tyranny. And they wrap themselves in the flag and scream freedom while destroying every institution that could hold them to account. All this is being done with a silent and complicit Republican majority. These are spineless fools filled with fear and hate. Yet the momentum builds as we approach the midterms that will be absent of any blue wave we may have read about. Ignorance is truly bliss for these people and their supporters. A once great nation weeps and longs for truth.
1
I still want to know if the USA paid for Kim Jong Un's hotel accommodations for him and his team?
1
North Korea is a tremendous, peace-loving nation and global warming doesn't exist. That's all you need to know to place bets on the future of humankind upon this planet,
Off topic, why are other countries with nuclear weapons always "nuclear threats" but the US is just a country with nuclear weapons? What makes us having nuclear capability any safer for ourselves or the world given our track record dating to the 1700s? Can you imagine if Trump or Mike Pompeo was in your house with access to your guns? I wouldn't even trust them with a squirt gun.
Back on topic, we could always lead by example by first dismantling some of our nuclear weapon stockpile.
Of course that would mean that we actually do something in exchange for trust/clear results from someone else, which is way outside our current MO here. We've only ever been in the word play and bribe game.
Baloney !!
Trump concedes way too much, and gets NOTHING in return. North Korea still has Nukes, but now ... we are "protecting" them. (???) There is NO timetable here. No schedule of anything. No Specific Intent to finalize any details.
And ... this is "our" Tax Dollars at work ... creating this kind of phony TV show, and then tell us that this is real Democracy in Action ?? No thank you.
If Journalism is to be brave AND accurate, may it rise to a higher level than this ridiculous Trump charade.
1
I suppose we can look forward to the first ever "D 5" summit for the five major dictators of the world:
Kim Jong-un, Duterte of the Philippines , Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China and the irrepressible Donald J. Trump.
emceed by Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.
get ready Mar a Lago FL, it will be a love fest for all.
1
To quote George W. Bush - "Mission Accomplished"
1
Aha! This is the Trump version of George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" banner!
5
Senator Schumer, The President is on planet Trump. Your headline implies another slight of hand by a master prestigiditator...we’ve been fooled in plain sight! The artist of the deal has dealt us a poor hand. Ironically we’ve been trumped by Kim Jong Un.
3
Trump’s “Mission accomplished!” moment.
And nice to know that there are some “very good people” running the DPRK.
The only time I was really worried about nuclear war was last summer, with Trump’s “Little Rocket Man” and “my button’s bigger” comments. So he elevated the illusion of a problem and has now elevated the illusion of a solution.
Make no mistake, this “historic agreement” has nothing to do with actually disarming N. Korea or bringing peace to the peninsula. It’s all about appealing to Trunp’s base for the midterms and 2020.
“Peace in our time.”
Yes, I can sleep well tonight however its not because of NK. I do not believe they were going to NUK anyone anymore than India, Pakistani, Israel, France or the UK intend too. Trump is the one that kept me up and now he has decided Kim and him are great buddies and he has stopped trying to start a war with him. Kim deserves the Piece Prize as he really knows how to calm down a rouge mad man.
1
Sleep well. The check is in the mail, yeah right.
Who believes this?
1
Relax, folks. The process has just started despite what’s being said on both sides.
On the plus side, we’re no longer talking about nuking each other. And if Trump somehow manages to peel the Norks away from China’s orbit, that’ll be an achievement for the ages.
Stay tuned...
So there were people in the fly-over states who weren't sleeping because North Korea might blow them up?
Honest Don brings tidings of comfort and joy to all Americans! Who knew defanging North Korea would be so simple?
I will sleep well when Trump is no longer president.
1
Has anyone noticed that "unclear" was an anagram of "nuclear" ?
2
Donald Trump, together with his rabid base, scare me much more than Kim Jong-un ever did. Kim is not, nor ever was, a threat to our democracy.
2
Donny the Dealmaker strikes out.
1
So, which is the "false news"? The administration's description of "complete" denuclearization? Or North Korea's "house" newspaper describing a step-by-step process?
Oh yes, sleep well!
1
I don't get it. Can we see a phony movie trailer to explain where we are now?
9
Neville Chamberlain move over and make room for Donald Trump. This is what happens when you have a President with no clue about world history.
2
Infantile narcissism at its most deluded and dangerous. And to think, he is 72 years old today.
1
“Trump Sees”
That’s would be headline news all by itself.
If only he could see.
"Peace in our time."
Trump should replace the bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office with one of Neville Chamberlain.
2
Most everyone knew that he would be preening like a peacock when he returned home and as usual he thinks because he shook Kim's hand that he has a deal and a BFF. Kim has never fulfilled his promise, ever. He is a cold blooded murderer who kills his own family members and lets babies die from malnutrition. While he lives his sumptuous life. Kim really took his own toilet! Was he nervous that someone would confiscate his.......? Neither of those guys trust but 2 people in their own lives. Why would anyone believe a word from either of their mouths? To sit and smile with Kim and frown at lifelong allies is absurd. I think he prefers getting warm and fuzzy with murderous dictators because he feels superior to them but put him with respected statesman and he feels inferior, which he should. I will always remember how rude he was when Angela Merkel extended her hand to him and he sat there ignoring her looking petulant like a child.
trump is really simple minded if he thinks a photo op is nuclear disarmament! Tell me when they quit testing, enriching uranium, give up their missles, etc! He and those like him are living in a fool’s paradise!
1
Trump is really simple minded if he thinks a photo op with a dictator is nuclear disarmament! Tell me when they quit enriching uranium, quit testing, give up their missles, etc. trump and those like him are living in a fool’s paradise!
1
It takes brains, patience and diplomacy to build long lasting relationships and peace. None of our swamp creatures have those qualities. They are lovers of murderous tyrants.
1
Once again an inept U.S. president declares, "Mission Accomplished!" We all know or should know what that means.
"Mission Accomplished" says the nuclear dillitant after legitimizing KJU in front of the rest of the world.
1
Trust but verify, Mr. Reagan? Insulting, frankly!
1
I’ll sleep well when and if the Trump dynasty ever ends and out of the White House.
11
“You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, and you will have war.' - To Neville Chamberlain”
Winston S. Churchill
Vote on Nov 6th
My conviction is that there is no tangible Agreement with NK as to Denuclearisation, Peace etc. This would hardly be possible within a short Meeting with such tough Counterpart. In addition
Kim will not give up his Arsenal easily, dont forget he has
some kind of backup from the Chinese and Russian Leadership.
The recent Meetings with Xi (twice within weeks) and Lawrow were not coincidental smalltalk gatherings.
The Singapore Summit was again an expensive TRUMP Show.
He loves and needs the Limelight, talking a lot of nonsense,
wants to impress the world with socalled "Dealmaking",
something nobody has managed before him.
This is for a while Food for his overdrawn Ego, something to brag about, take off the Attention from other serious issues. Unfortunately there are Constituents that fall for it. The NK issue is much more complex and does involve political interests of China and Russia. Does Trump realize this, or is he so naive to believe that he got Kim in his bag.
No Noble Prize for now - PLEASE!
1
An open question to the trump sycophants: What, *exact* and tangible things did we get from North Korea?
Nothing, save empty promises.
Anyone who has an ounce of intelligence knows North Korea has repeatedly "promised" to do the same things they did when sitting down with trump.
And they reneged each and every single time.
4
Trump got some scant clapping and a tan. And that's all that matters.
1
One wag summed up the situation perfectly: "I haven't slept well since Trump got elected!"
1
Is Mr. Kim interested in the welfare of his people? Or is he interested in nothing but holding on to autocratic power at any cost? If the former I WOULD feel reassured.
But I am reminded of George W. Bush looking into Putin's eyes and feeling reassured because he "saw his soul" as opposed to Joe Biden later looking into Putin's eyes and saying to Putin, "You have no soul." And Putin's answer, "Just so we understand one another."
2
I think Mr. Trump is correct. There is not now a nuclear threat to the United States. But that is because there never was one. The supposed nuclear threat was PR hype and now it is time to move on to other things, so victory is declared. It was and is preposterous to accept what most American media seemed to, that the North Korean leaders would be insane enough to actually initiate nuclear warfare with the United States. As usual their hyperbole was just a prelude to get wanted negotiations started and again they have succeeded. They also seem to have learned the Qaddafi lesson about the need to have nuclear weapons as a deterrent to Western (American) intervention.
1
I haven't slept well since GOP elected Trump. It's not going to change that until all of GOP is off he power table.
2
We love to hype up the threat others pose to us but never look at the threat we pose to others. Under Trump we've once again increased military spending and are well on the path to increase our war machine. Under Trump we feel less safe because his behavior is irratic and impulsive, therefore, he's more likely to push the button.
But I digress, Trump is doing a two year old proud with his magical thinking and his cadre of Alice in Wonderland members such as Pompeo. We've made enemies of our friends and love our former enemies - Russia and now North Korea. We're threatened by his bromance with the bad guys club, excepting Iran because its deal was done under Obama and our then allies. The Iran deal included verifiable evidence and oh, yeah they didn't even have a nuclear bomb yet. We've disgraced ourselves by walking back on that agreement and now we have an example of what Trump and friends consider 'the art of the deal'. Next up - the bunny in the hat deal and perhaps a ruble pulled from behind our ears.
3
The meeting was a joke. The only reason Trump even met a traditional enemy infinitely more dangerous to the U.S. than Iran is because his initiative was not opposed by AIPAC, the Saudi Lobby and Netanyahu.
The entire episode will backfire as soon as the U.S. begins to demand conditions even fractionally as stringent as the JCPOA that required years of detailed negotiation.
Exhibitionism is no substitute for hard work. Trump is no substitute for Obama.
3
NK was never a threat to US. Kim's boasting and idle threats were to gain an audience. Previous presidents would not give one. Trump has. Win for Kim. He is a threat to his neighbors. That has not changed. Win for Kim. His miserable human rights record went unchallenged. Win for Kim. No specifics about his nuclear aspirations (I'm guessing his capability has been spent), win for Kim. What do we get? I'm betting on a Trump Tower in North Korea!
2
"North Korea still has nuclear weapons. It still has ICBMs. It still has the United States in danger". Yes...and no. Of course, it's standard partisanship from C. Schumer to say what he said but, frankly, do you see the fat dictator (the one from the North, of course) sending one or two missiles to the US or Japan, without considering the almost immediate wiping out of his country from the Earth surface ? Kim is demonstrating his self-control in international affairs and nobody sees him launching Armaggedon just for the fun of it.
This not to say that the US scored a great victory in Singapore but, please, let's decrease the fear factor by one or two notches.
Well, it's all a part of the Trump Show, the part where he gets to save us all from annihilation using the strength of his personality alone!
All of our past presidents understood one critical fact: "the Devil is in the Details". Trump has no grasp of the importance of facts. Likely, the same is true of a majority of his supporters. Sad to see ignorance on the rise in our great nation.
1
All this, but Trump's approval ratings have been on the rise. How is this possible? Who are these people who approve?
In case anyone is unclear about this: Trump does not care about human rights. He does not care about South Korea. He doesn’t even really care about denuclearization, since it serves him to have the world live in fear that we’re a tweet away from apocalypse. Of course he may suddenly decide he cares a great deal about these things if it suits that day’s political agenda. But what he really cares about is being unpredictable, uncaring about harmful consequences, contemptuous of others’ wishes, and potentially dangerous. Which is why he’s going to get cozy with Kim Jong-Un, and then they will get into a disagreement and everyone will be worried, and then they will make up, and he’ll get everyone so anxious about this dance that no one will notice that he’s robbing the country blind, repeatedly breaking laws that would have gotten any other president impeached, and selling out the US to China and Russia while betraying our longstanding allies.
And then he will be re-elected.
The nightmare is real and it’s happening. Even if Democrats flip Congress this November Trump isn’t going anywhere and he’ll successfully elude all efforts to contain him.
And if you’re doing pretty well right now and think none of this affects you, just wait......
2
I'm beginning to wonder if we're witnessing a coup in slow motion with a civil war as the result. Either DJT gets impeached and his followers start shooting up the place, or his minority takes over, suspends the Constitution and the majority resorts to armed resistance.
1
He made on of the very very few true statements he has ever made when he said when this fails in 6 months he will "make up some excuse."
Bets are it will all be President Obama's fault...
Of course that assumes he is still in office six months from now. There are two cases working their way along that could spell felony indictments, and then there is the obvious flaunting of the Constitution with his using office for personal gain from foreign sources.
If Republicans in congress were upholding their oath of office he would have been impeached and removed from office a year ago.
2
Trump's craving of adulation has hit its peak with this non-starter of a deal. He is driven by self-aggrandizement and nothing else. Trump has the singular objective to show the world he is masterful at deal-making. In a battle of wits Trump comes in second behind Kim.
1
It's certainly premature for Trump to spike the football, but that's just what Trump does. We don't have to like it, but we should at least recognize the progress he's made. North Korea's neighbors seem optimistic. Why shouldn't we?
Instead of condemning Trump for his efforts, why not seize the opportunity and try to build this framework into a lasting peace? How does it help anyone to simply scowl at the situation?
Reading articles like this gives one the impression that if Trump were trying to cure cancer, the media would enthusiastically root for malignancy.
Because he has accomplished exactly nothing . That's why.
Really? In less than a year we went from daily threats of nuclear war to the possibility of peace. North Korea is releasing prisoners, reaching out to the world for the first time in almost 70 years, and is finally negotiating with the south. How are those things not accomplishments?
So for Trump, this is "mission accomplished".
It would have been funny to see how John Bolton takes over any Republican president's mind in a couple of months, to then systematically make them commit the exact same mistakes ... if it weren't for the fact that North Korea ... well, has nuclear weapons, and is officially at war with the US and our regional allies, all while being one of the most horrible dictatorships out there.
NYT reported that South Korea and Japan are shivering as Trump-Kim summit is threatening their security.
Really? President Moon Jae-in expressed support for the summit and so did Japan. Japan has even recognized that the missile threats from North Korea have removed. South Korean government is considering favorably a halt to war game including B-1 bomber or Stealth. (they will discuss it today)
Are you dreaming, NYT?
'complete and verifiable and irreversible' means SURRENDER. Of course, as it is true that the Trump administration has demanded it, it's reasonable reporters took Trump up on why the sentence wasn't included in the agreement. However…
Don't you think this is too unilateral viewpoint? Haven't you thought of how abusive it would be to the North Koreans? (not only to officials but also to many ordinary citizens?)
I'm wary that NYT seems to get to have a same position with John Bolton. Isn't it NYT that has lighted into Bolton harsher than anyone?
Go back to 2017 when you championed the diplomatic engagement.
1
Senator Schumer might not be quite so churlish as to question ‘which planet Trump is on’. Trump inhabits the planet of he-cannot-fail-as-a-dealmaker and, should things not work out his way, there’s somebody else to blame for his failure.
2
Mission accomplished!
Produce vacuous propaganda for the rubes in time for the November elections.
The only issue is will they start salivating in time to save the Republican Party from ridicule.
Even though this article does a good job of questioning whether there is a rational basis for believing that the North Korean nuclear threat is over or even even on a path for eventual reduction, the headline implies an undeserved level of faith in the veracity of Trump's public statements. By declaring that "Trump Sees End to North Korea Nuclear Threat" rather than "Trump Claims End" or "Trump Asserts End," the New York Times is accepting that President Trump actually believes what he says.
Our President is a proven serial liar and egotistical narcissist whose utterances are intended to create a positive image of himself and score partisan political advantage. He is not even consistent, routinely stating (or tweeting) entirely different claims on different days. Based on his well-established track record, there is no reason to accept his statements as genuine declarations of his personal views or beliefs.
4
I never cease to be amazed at the number of people who seem to buy in to Trump's con jobs!
Yeah I guess it does cost money to keep troops in S Korea. Lots of ways our military costs money. Let's save a lot of money and, say, reduce the military budget by, oh about half or two thirds.
Simple minded silliness
I will sleep no better tonight, knowing the greatest threat to western democracies occupies the Oval Office. And that Kim may be playing a role in keeping him there for the benefit of all the world's authoritarians.
I have not slept well since Donald Trump was elected. There are far more fears about security, health and the future since then. Personally, my life has not changed at all (except the anxiety about Trump) but those who are less fortunate have little but uncertainty in their lives as long as Trump and the Republican leadership are in office. As for his North Korea "stunt." Only a fool will believe a couple of hours of idle chat will end the threat.
1
Uh ... what?
First he destroys the Iran nuclear agreement, which effectively denuclearized Iran, without replacing it with ANY other agreement, and then he doesn't sign ANY concrete, effective denuclearization agreement with North Korea AT ALL, merely a one-page document saying that North Korea INTENDS to denuclearize (as it has been saying for decades now, all while building its current 60 nuclear weapons) ... and somehow we should miraculously feel safe and sleep well at night ... ?
How could anybody sleep well when we have a president signing fake nuclear agreements and tearing apart existing, real ones ... ??
1
Hear me out. i am thinking this whole trip had nothing to do with nukes or the military. Trump's little propaganda video and his talk of beaches and hotels made me realize he wants to expand trump org into n korea. that's what the little one hour chat was about. no one will know and the interpreters are bound to secrecy, something trump usually knows nothing about - except when it comes to putin, kim, moon, and xi. then he is suddenly silent. i think he is negotiating for a trump tower in Pyongyang. Just my thoughts.
It costs too much to station troops on the Korean peninsula but the 15 million dollars for this non-deal and another 11 million dollars for a parade--those are justified costs? In whose universe?
2
Mr. Pompeo's statement that the term "complete" is superior to all other sought after terms like"verifiable", and, "irreversible", is in line with the Republican mantra that the need to understand facts and details are hallmarks of liberal, elitist nonsense.
One doesn't need facts or in depth understanding or an education or science. One only needs to trust in Our President! If Our President says it, it must be true. If Our President does it, it must be legal. i can already hear the next rally and it's accompanying assault on the fake media.
Kim jong-un now understands his very real need to play along until Trump's re-election in 2020. And again in 2024.
As if this gross display isn't ludicrous enough, it's performance against the backdrop of Trump's recent disdain for our Allies, and his support by a majority of "the greatest generation" who forged those alliances in blood, is mind boggling.
It's as if Putin is calling the shots. Why install your puppet President if you don't intend to use him?
3
Listening to Trump, Pompeo and Pence, one could believe that anything and everything is true.
And why are the same people who went ballistic over the Iran Agreement so supportive of this?
2
Words, words, words.
Trump's words are just words to fit into a political arena,
and has nothing to do with political and economic reality.
These words are constructed to hide a deeper reality
of a world order being made with Russia,
China, and other authoritarian regimes.
There is a covert subversion of the 70 years of a liberal
capitalist/democratic system, that was built after
World War 2.
This subversion of the liberal democratic ideology has always been the ploy of the Soviet Union/Russia, the ideology is the same which is to destroy this system as it is deeply opposed to the Russian political ideology of global dominance.
Trump's use of words to support and praise dictators and vicious autocrats is symptomatic of his world view, as he admires those where systems are not democratic and liberal in their political, legal, and economic formations.
Trump is using optics like his meeting with Kim to peddle an ideology which is a national security threat to American democracy, and should be exposed - so where are the
Democrats and their defense of the American way of life
and the democratic system of freedom and liberty for all?
Trump's tactics is the systematic de-humanizing of the political space, and corrupting the cultural space with hate and suspicion. The space between human communication
is filled with fear of the other.
These tactics were used during the 1930's with the Holocaust
as the result of man's inhumanity to man, and the absence of empathy.
1
For once I support Trump's goal, and hope he is right. But this is a good moment to remember W's foolish "Mission Accomplished" speech, and to remember how Trump denounced and destroyed Obama's "weak" Iran deal—an actual, concrete achievement. I'm afraid chances are very good that history will judge Trump's "sleep well" tweet to be a new landmark in weakness and foolishness.
1
Nobody was afraid of nuclear war with North Korea until Trump started to threaten it. President Trump has simply pretended to sign an agreement with himself.
2
I won't be sleeping well so long as Donald Trump is President. The real secret to the "art of the deal" for Trump lies not in how you negotiate to achieve the best result but in how you can brag about it afterwards regardless of the outcome. I can't see that Trump has any other concern here.
2
Trump has a new reality tv show, Apprentice Nation. North Korea is the first country. The promo for the show has been produced and promoted. Now what?
1
So Trump just couldn't help himself that he had to inject Obama in there telling us don't pay attention because we can now sleep well at night. I wonder how well the people in South Korea are sleeping? The summit was like a hyped up boxing match with nothing to show in the end. Kim left the match with his belt intact while Trump left with empty promises.
Kim will slow play this to get the sanctions lifted, all the while Trump will shout we have a great win! Which is farthest from the truth as Kim will hoodwink Trumps team to get what he wants and boom, test. "Look what we have, 33 nuclear missles and a stock pile of plutonium. Sorry, still a nuclear threat." Tweets Kim Jong Un.
Let us pause for a second and compare this to Obama’s “worst deal ever” fully verifiable, binding long-term agreement to prevent Iran from assembling nuclear bombs. The one that was carefully negotiated over many months at great expense. The one that has had the full support of our key allies and even some of our rivals. The one that Trump recently tore in half and threw away. My god, he literally doesn’t know the first thing about negotiation. The “artist of the deal” couldn’t negotiate his way out of a paper bag.
5
We’ve heard this variation on “mission accomplished “ before. Look how that one turned out!
The Singapore meeting was a huge success and the path forward is clear to me and to Trump and to N. Korea and to China and Kim and Trump are t be applauded. Smiles everywhere except in this newspaper who would rather see failure than success and would as soon continue the Korean stalemate , rather than to see Trump and Kim and China bury the hatchet. It was a major turning point in history for the better and you are mad about it.
If by "huge success" you mean that we have embraced a brutal rogue state, while alienating our allies, limited our military readiness, all while not securing any commitments from the N. Koreans... In that case it was a smashing success. Indeed, a huge success for the naive.
I hope you are right. So, when are the inspectors going to North Korea to examine their nuclear sites?
So trump makes concessions, Kim makes none, and the nuclear threat has vanished.
We're being led by a man-boy who is being led by a boy-man.
1
When Obama was simply respectful to other countries he was branded an apologist by the right, particularly Fox "News". But now Trump bows before a brutal dictator and grovels to get a nothing burger of a deal and he is a great statesman. Schumer is right - what planet do these people live on?
3
JFK said "The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all" ... Well it seems that the oblivion of about 60million tooks us to this point.... isolated, further apart from friends and too close to foes for comfort....
No, we are just one tweet away from total hostility again.
1
What a travesty and mockery of diplomatic parleys that without any mention of the debacle at the G-7 earlier in Canada, Trump jumps to declare the end of nuclear nightmare from the North Korean side barely after his 90-minute meeting with Kim Jong-un that was more of a photo-op session full of theatrics than a serious diplomatic engagement with the world's most defiant and arrogant leader. It clearly suggests how tricky and deceptive Trump could be about the conduct of statecraft which is nothing more than a stagecraft to him or a TV reality show.
3
On the need for verification: Syria claimed they had gotten rid of all their chemical weapons but it turned out they hadn't. Iran actually went through a strict verification process showing they were upholding their side of that agreement, yet the US unilaterally trashed it because it was a "terrible deal." My head aches.
Apparently, spending money on military parades is a better way to ensure national security than stationing troops at strategic points and maintaining their combat readiness. I feel rather anxious.
Kim and Trump share the belief that reality is what they say it is, and anyone who thinks the Emperor has no clothes obviously has no appreciation for advanced design. They both seem to think that all the public wants is "exciting" TV performances, and any evidence of logic, planning, or consistency is not only unnecessary, but gets in the way of the "drama." Hanging on to one's sanity is getting more difficult by the day!
Could we please go back to the idea of government as something run by sober, competent adults, and leave the drama to the entertainment folks? (Actually, given the choice, I'd prefer watching Black Panther a fifth time to following Trump-related news.)
I admire Trump's gamble because if things go sour, it will be very difficult to blame somebody else, although he will certainly try.
1
It was America and Russia who started war in Korean Peninsula. Finally, America is amending and healing the aftermess of the war. Creating a peace somewhere in the world will bring peace to America. I am South Korean. I really agree on critic's opinion that we should plan verifying steps on denucleazation, and i believe history is on a right track.
Key sentences in the Singapore news conference:
"The people of Korea, North and South, are profoundly talented, industrious and gifted. They share the same heritage, language, customs, culture and destiny. But to realize their amazing destiny, to reunite their national family, the menace of nuclear weapons will now be removed."
If the Koreas reunify Korea will be a powerful country with no need of nuclear weapons or for the artillery pointed at Seoul. If the Koreas do not reunify denuclearization would leave the DPRK an extremely poor country burdened with a largely obsolete military. It appears that Trump is seeking to address the shared dream of both Moon and Kim.
Achieving that dream will not be possible without Moon at the table as an equal partner. If the Koreas can negotiate their mutual security nuclear weapons become a burden rather than a shield. Negotiations need to be primarily between the DPRK and S. Korea with the U.S. as facilitator. That can lead to the departure of U.S. troops and satisfy China's objectives. But, an autonomous and strong Korea with good ties to the U.S. would not be a puppet or buffer of China.
Germany reunified two disimilar systems to become one. Economic integration can be done over a generation or more with a "one country two systems" solution. Military integration would have to occur early - thinkable with Kim as supreme leader of the DPRK. The South with support from the U.S. can help address elimination of nuclear weapons.
Typical mainstream media slant. Momentous progress at the Singapore summit, but grasping and focusing on anything negative -- in this case, an "unclear" path forward. Well, that's life. The path may not be clear, but those who move forward in a positive manner eventually make progress.
President Obama proclaimed that sometimes you hit singles and doubles. He understood the step by step process and compromises that it took to achieve political objectives and was void of the need to make grandiose proclamations of self aggrandizement. I dont have any quarrel with Trump's North Korean efforts including the belligerent taunts issued towards Kim. However his grossly overstated accomplishments as a deal maker cloud his judgement on what he has accomplished and his need for validation may have entailed unnecessary compromises to achieve a political solution so he can lavish in imagined adulation. This was merely a first step and should not be viewed in any other manner.
1
The meeting could have been deemed a success if commitment to sign a formal peace treaty was made. At present even this preliminary step is doubtful.
China, via an editorial in its mouthpiece Global Times has already ruled out complete denuclearization. Without denuclearizaion, unification is also ruled out. China clearly prefers the status quo of the Kim regime even if that keeps North Korea in perpetual porverty and the peninsula in perpetual strife. Status quo serves their interests.
The only silver lining is this outreach of President Trump may have created adequate personal trust to enable any noble intent of Kim on Korean unification. Such an intent would also require his giving up political power under Chinese patronage.
Free world, though in bit of a disarray at present, shall surely respond with an electrified start to join President Trump in his effort to help Kim achieve Korean unification via denuclearization. But at present Kim remains an unknown variable and this happy path scenario remains a pipe dream.
I don't think he's being honest when he says North Korea is not a threat, but we all must admit that Trump is gone further than any other president to at least try to solve it.
Obama never even tried,
1
Obama did the rational, logical, thing in trying to prevent ta rogue state that didn't yet have nuclear weapons --- Iran --- from getting them.
Trump opened the door for that very rogue state to become the next North Korea and managed to give the actual North Korea a gargantuan boost of legitimacy on the world stage, to boot.. and all within the same year.
I'm guessing that's what you all call "progress" on the right, eh?
Certainly PT does not mean "no longer" literally. That's self-evident in that what the world has now is the meeting and the writing, the meaning of which is...conjectural.
But it does seem fair to say that KJU's actions, taking them at face value, point in the direction of a somewhat lesser nuclear threat if...and then there's a list of conditions comparable in length to what Luther nailed to the church door in Wittenburg.
Also, some are already wondering whether it is prudent to take KJU's actions at face value; but these are not the person who met face-to-face with him and concluded that he is, perhaps, one in ten thousand, in having assumed genuine leadership of a nation at the age of 26, and who was found to have a sense of humor and to be a skilled negotiator and to actually love - yes, love - his subjects, some intra-familial nastiness notwithstanding. To paraphrase Chico, now who you gonna believe, PT or your lying eyes?
So, yes, the indicated direction may be taken as a somewhat lesser nuclear threat. But whether that warrants taking comfort in PT's injunction to sleep soundly, seems to this observer somewhere between questionable and highly unlikely.
I can't but wonder on what planet Charles Ellis Schumer resides ? Is he incapable of understanding that the meeting between Messrs Kim and Trump was a significant step forward towards reducing tensions and avoiding the threat of nuclear war on the Korean peninsula (which war would hardly have remained confined to that peninsula or even to East Asia) ? Of course, the confidence-building steps already taken - the destruction of the tunnels at the DPRK's nuclear test centre at Punggye-ri, the promise by Mr Trump to end the annual war exercises with the ROK - have to be followed up by further concrete steps by both sides, but at least the ball, which was stopped by the disastrous policies towards the DPRK introduced by the Bush-Cheney administration (cf James Matray''s analysis - http://icks.org/data/ijks/1482461222_add_file_7.pdf), is rolling again. Or is this, rather than an indication of intellectual deficiencies on Mr Schumer's part, instead a reflection of a both viceral and tactical reaction to an agreement signed by Mr Trump, to which, it seems, nuclear war is a preferable alternative ?...
Henri
1
This is simply a new Reality Show for prime time. The tease for each new episode will have a fake trailer and end with "Stay Tuned"
2
No matter what Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States of America, does he will be criticised by the Establishment, especially the Left.
You'd think the Left, with all its peaceniks and nuclear dooms-dayers, would have welcomed his overture to North Korea. As for the broader Establishment, it fears an end to the stalemate between the two Koreas because it would end the status quo of the region.
Had the darling of the Left, Obama, accomplished what Trump has done, he would have been praised, in fact, he would have lived up to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to him for his potential to secure peace, which he failed to accomplish. Instead, he sought a nuclear agreement with Iran, which only postponed its weapons program for 10 years.
Who knows what Hillary Rodham Clinton would have done? I and millions of other Americans made sure on November 8, 2016, that she would not have the opportunity!
I support the President. I support Trump. He has triumphed, triumphed triumphantly, and will continue to triumph through 2024. Thank you.
Particularly what has Trump "accomplished' here (save for a photoop and some scant clapping).
I mean, have you been able to get a look at the details of this "deal" or "nuclear agreement" or whatever it supposedly is because the entire world has been asking the Trump administration exactly what it is that they've agreed to yet, somehow, they are at a lost (or else strangely reluctant) to say.
Do let the rest of us know when you find out.
Never been out of the backwoods, eh? Never been the victim of a con? You've just been had by a couple of film flam men and you should check your wallet at the end of Trump's term.
Like a British Prime Minister of the middle of the previous century whose historic achievement looms large in the annals of history, President Trump has brought us peace for our time.
Once again it can be easily said:
Enough is enough.
Let us offer less analysis and more solutions to an obvious problem.
Enough is enough.
The answer to what to do about Trump can be found with the entirety of Republican voters - or at least to those who are paying attention.
What is needed is a STRONG MESSAGE conveyed to the GOP that enough is enough.
A simple and meaningful solution is for all Republicans of good conscience to change their political registration as Republican to Democrat.
Or register as an Independent, depending on strength of conviction.
(Independents should consider becoming Democrats.)
Later on (post Trump) register again to whatever is preferred.
Or become an Independent.
It is all a matter of choice based on prevailing circumstances.
But this time around .......... Trump must go.
Perform this simple but meaningful maneuver and do it now before the elections in November of 2018.
Put the threat of your vote where your good sense, your conscience, and your heart happen to be.
Patriotism can take many forms and can be effective through simple acts of protest.
Send the GOP and the Trump Administration a message that even they can understand.
Enough is enough.
Dump Trump.
We have an American president singing the praises of the most murderous and gratuitously cruel, large-scale despot on our planet, asking us to believe that the leader of North Korea loves the men, women and children he starves to death each year.
We have an American president giving a cheerful “mission accomplished” report, when he was the only person who made concessions, without any concurrence of Congress, during the discussions with the North Korean dictator.
We have an American president returning from Singapore with a far worse agreement about nuclear weaponry in North Korea than our nation negotiated nearly two decades ago and which North Korea soon after trashed.
The subtext for Donald Trump’s ebullience is that Trump achieved the publicity stunt which he needed personally to distract Americans from the mounting evidence that he is president largely because the Russians wanted him in the office.
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"Let me assure you that the 'complete' encompasses 'verifiable' in the minds of everyone concerned". Can we think of any concerned party that might not have 'verifiable' in their mind? What will our Secretary of State say when no one is allowed into North Korea to confirm any action resulting from this post-it note of an agreement? "But it was implied!" It almost makes you think that the photo ops and tweets were the only real goal of this "historic" meeting.
1
So one quick question did they sign a peace agreement? I mean did they decide the Korean war was over. I had thought that was still something that had been left undone for the last 50 years...
How Orwellian. A persistent stat of war to keep the masses occupied, concerned, and dependent upon the protection of the state from threat.
Is it possible that there is a different answer?
Among other questions about his intelligence, his inability to do research and absorb expertise and his many narcissistic traits, I am wondering if our president is actually bi-polar.
There is clearly a case of euphoria disconnected from the reality on the ground. Grandiose claims such as problems being solved and our safety assured before the process of achieving those claims is even formulated show a mentality seriously divorced from reality. He is overcome by a strange glow based only on a staged event seriously short of details and accountability.
God help us all should Kim hold true to his well-established patterns of behavior. A 180 degree swing in the man-child's mood will bring us darkness and anger, hurt feelings instead of resolve and calculation.
Captain Queeg is in charge of steering the USS Caine.
This has the feel of legacy hunting. A peace treaty that denuclearized North Korea & protected the interests of the US & its allies would be a good thing BUT Trump gave up two things Kim wanted--a face to face meeting & cancelling war games--without getting anything definite in return. He is already discussing withdrawing US forces. That shouldn't even be mentioned at this point.
Honestly is anyone really surprised at all of this? Who knew that nuclear disarmament could be so easy!
This is what happens when you have a simple 10 in the White House. Country is being led by a man who has a curiosity of a 12-year-old. And I don’t mean to insult 12-year-olds.
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I think you have to remember how his mind works. As far as he is concerned he has done everything he needed to do and been extremely successful at it (to the rest of us this means he met someone). Whether or not this deal can ever be made to work is entirely down to other people, and its failure will, without question, be down to them. In fact he has probably already forgotten all about it.
3
What a colossal three ring circus with a ringmaster who sows maximum chaos to shock and awe his audience, gag his "enemies," and impose his delusions on the world.
Consider the absurdity of trashing a treaty with 88 million Iranians with a GDP of $500 billion that sits on top of the world's main oil reserve, in a deadly conflict zone caught in a crossfire of history, hostility and hate. The miasma of tribal and religious enmity in the Middle East is exacerbated by the present day Great Game played by competing empire-states.
Whether the world ends in a bang or a whimper is less relevant than where or why it might end, which is more likely in the Middle East than the Korean peninsula.
PRNK has 25 million people and an economy that's barely $1 billion. It's effectively a Chinese province ruled by a dynastic family installed by China. PRNK ICBMs are no different than Russian ICBMs in Ukraine when it was the Soviet Union.
Anyone really think China, an emerging superpower eager to develop global markets to compete with US economic hegemony, investing billions around the world, is going to let little Rocket Man blow up their future?
Because of past trauma, China is border-phobic. Nothing happens in a border state that China doesn't control. Kim is China's baby.
Trump trashed the mother of all treaties with Iran and then has lunch with China's puppet and claims he just saved the world.
Sure, we can now sleep soundly. It's waking up to Trump that's a nightmare.
3
Mark Twain must have had someone like Trump in mind when he said,"it ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
2
Mr Trump seems to have never learned that the US 's long established policies in Korea were to keep recewntly defeated Japan safe from Soviet and CHinese aggression in Asia-as well as South Korea and the Pacific East Asian states free of communist aggfression and interference.
Trump now sees all US action as merely to protect and service minor US interests, and as a consequence is ready to abandon all our allies and interesets in Asia, as if the world were closing shop tomorrow.
Not only is this an ignorant and cramped vision of reality, it is in violation of long established and signed treaty obligations we have with our allies. Trump cannot simply decide to abandon them because he has found a new playmate in North Korea!
One begins to seriously worry that there is an absence of understanding and interest among the members of the Executive branch and the Department of State concerning our legal responsibilitry to foreign and allied nations. One doesn't simply abandon ones's allies overnight-international treaty obligations are the most sacred and important relationships the US has and our Constitution allows the executive it's powers specifically to uphold them. Signing a new treaty with North KOrea does not in any way change or nullify our previous treaty obligations.
Trump had to make that claim to justify the complete absence of results as Americans expected. Perhaps Kim would not use his nuclear weapons against US mainland. so, what he is claiming now is no more than a non-result of his summit. He has no option but to appear pleased with his 'achievement' in Singapore where Kim got a much better deal without giving away anything. But Pompei says that there were commitments which have not been spelt out in the joint statement. Let's see.
To put it another way, nobody other than Kim and Trump know what was discussed and what was agreed. What we know is that Kim gained considerable international heft for having met with the alleged leader of the free world and Trump got bragging points for having done ... nothing.
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If there was one guaranteed outcome of the meeting, it was that Trump would brag about what a success it was -- what a success HE was and always is -- with his usual disregard of the facts.
2
Who believes this nonsense other than the Trump base?
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Pompeo “grew testy” when pressed by a reporter for “more details” about how to ensure a “verifiable” denulcearisation, and lashed out: “I find that question insulting and ridiculous and, frankly, ludicrous.” It shows his skills as top diplomat. Don’t be surprised if he falls out with his North Korean counterparts in the future.
He declined to discuss the North Korean coverage of the summit, because he in the past urged for regime change in Pyongyang. Now he has no clue about how to handle the rapprochement – dancing to Trump’s tune.
Mike Pence seemed to contradict the North Korean version. “As the president said, our sanctions will remain in place until North Korea’s nuclear weapons are no longer a factor.” US sanctions don’t matter at all, because it doesn’t trade with Pyongyang. But the summit will remove the obstacles to China and Russia trading openly with North Korea.
9
You hit the nail on the head. I thought the same, and my suspicions were confirmed when China immediately moved to support lifting UN Sanctions.
What will Nikki Haley do?
1
It is like Hitler and Neville Chamberlain had a child together
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Seeing would be believing but the optics are pretty cloudy. Let's see what happens in a few months to determine what was achieved and what still must be achieved.
1
"We'll see what happens."
Now where have I heard that before?
“ North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat?” Did their silos, missiles, and entire nuclear program magically vanish overnight? This ranks right up there with “Mission Accomplished,” and “Peace in our Time.” Not a good omen for the future.
35
Trump tweeted, "... North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem. No longer - sleep well tonight!"
What planet, indeed. Ludicrous? I think not. Until something real and verifiable has actually been accomplished we will be sleepless in Seattle. Seattle is closer to North Korea than any other major American city.
32
Actually, Anchorage is WAY closer, and Honolulu is 500 miles closer to NorK. than Seattle.
Since we are splitting hairs John, it's fair to note that Robert qualified his comment by referring to "major" American cities. By population, Seattle is far bigger than Anchorage or Honolulu. (Especially if extended to the Seattle metro area.) Seattle is comparable to Boston, while Honolulu is comparable to Anaheim. And Anchorage has less than 0.5 million people, comparable to Irvine or Orlando.
I don’t think most people can sleep well while Trump is President.
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I can’t believe how divided this country is.
20
We are not divided more like stunned, incredulous, shocked at the level of ignorance at every level of this administration. Please explain what is different today with NK than pre "summit"? Even Pompous can't lay it out.
2
That is the price of ignorance and ideology.
2
There is utter panic in the juveniles who delude themselves that this continental inmate-run nuthouse is "under God". They cling to the most farcical excuse for a theocrat they could find.
1
Expect Trump to come back in three month time and say this regarding North Korea's denuclearization: ”Who thought it will be so difficult”! Response: Everyone else but you.
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This is a real deja vu moment.
It's 1938 all over again. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has just returned home with a piece of paper in his hand declaring, "Peace in our time!"
And we all know how badly that ended.
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DJT imagines many, many things, all involving himself being the most fantastic person on the entire planet. This is exactly what I thought would happen - DJT would waltz in, generously give concessions, and sign a vague, meaningless paper. Then it is “Mission Accomplished”. Because it is, as far as DJT is concerned. He got the propaganda he wanted.
40
And business connections.
If Trump really wants me to rest easy, I promise I will 'sleep like a baby' the day after he resigns.
65
I did get a laugh from my wife when, after I heard Trump's advice to "sleep well tonight," I remarked "Is he quitting?"
1
Singapore offered trump the opportunity to show statesmanship? Seems more like he confirmed Tillerson's assessment that he's a moron. He appears eager to sell South Korea and Japan down the river by removing American troops, and is salivating at real estate opportunities in North Korea by embracing a murderous dictator. China and Russia must be amazed at their good fortune by how easily American influence and power is being diminished by a know-nothing president, who incredibly finds democracy gets in the way of his own illusions of grandeur.
17
Sounds to me like another version of “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”. I wonder where we will be in 2033?
4
The master of fake news creating an alternative reality to distract from the actual reality of his disastrous presidency and impending legal crisis. Totally predictable.
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Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with an attempt to usher in world peace and everything to do with Trump cozying up with dictators.
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And diverting attention from his myriad legal problems at home.
Nobel....if he is even n8 instead they will lose what little respect they have left.
I think the threat is more from an accidental or errant launch. I see NK's threat as defensive in nature, against a larger enemy capable of and prone to the tactic of pre-emptive attack.
3
If Trump can defang a murderous regime that has threatened world peace for almost 70 years he will indeed deserve a Nobel Peace Prize. No one outside Reagan in most Americans lifetime will have done more to solve an intractable foreign policy threat that most Presidents have sought to cure but failed at completing.
I'm sure it will gall most readers of this newspaper but it will be true.
1
If that's humour, well done.
1
If, If, If. Whatever gets you through the night.
1
Er, uh, Steve? You do remember the Iran nuclear deal? The one that was verifiable and binding, had the support of our key allies and even some of our rivals, and kept Iran from assembling nuclear weapons? The one that Trump just tore up and threw away?
Does anyone have any smelling salts?
1
Trump solved nothing, got nothing, and with his despicable and nonsensical blathering brought nothing but disgrace upon this country.
That said as a Navy [Fire Control Technician (Gunnery) 3rd Class] Vietnam veteran and retired federal prosecuting attorney, I am comforted knowing that fellow Vietnam veteran, Robert Mueller (Captain, USMC '68-'69: Bronze Star with Combat V, Purple Heart and more) is hard at work and will soon bring about the end to our collective nightmare known as "Donald Trump." Indeed, he will hold Trump accountable at the Bar of Justice as only a Marine (Once a Marine always a Marine.) can do.
Finally it will be a grand day and a great cause for celebration worldwide when (not if) this occurs . In the meantime, "Ooorrraaahh" and "Semper Fi" Mr. Mueller, you are my hero.
40
Thank you for your service. However, more substance and less puffing of oneself and favored others will make for a better post.
1
"Indeed, he will hold Trump accountable at the Bar of Justice as only a Marine (Once a Marine always a Marine.) can do."
Amen. Semper Fi, There is no such thing as an ex-Marine.
I think more attention should be paid to a true hero and honorable public servant, Robert Mueller. To label this man's efforts as a witch hunt is despicable.
This was never a unified, united country. Now there's no effort to even paper over the schism. It hardly matters now anyway since Trump has given it all away, for money and for ego.
It's interesting that as a lifelong progressive liberal, I see what Reagan meant by "shining beacon." He was wrong in many ways; he was just as racist as any Right Wing ideologue, and he was a hypocrite with all his talk of freedom and liberty. But he probably believed it all. And at least he said it. This crowd, they don't even bother.
What would Reagan make of Trump kow towing to a totalitarian dictator the way Trump did to Kim? What would Reagan make of Trump's remarks that Kim is a good, honorable leader whose people love him, and that all countries do bad stuff?
I think Reagan would call Trump a communist, in the pocket of the Russians.
20
Perhaps he loves autocrats because he wants to be one. He admires total power and control.
10
The North Koreans played Trump. Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free. They offered some vague promises without giving any concessions. They got Trump to stop the 'war games.'
13
Trump has decided to let Kim keep his nuclear weapons and ICBMs because Trump knows for a fact (because Kim has told him so) that Kim will never use them against the US because Kim is honorable and would never lie. What a deal.
14
Comforting and reasoned thoughts coming from a bankrupt casino owner who has still not succeeded in getting all the Mercedes cars off 5th Avenue (one would think that more worrisome than the State of Cohen, too . . . )
7
Trump needs to stop normalizing Kim’s behaviors and brutality as “talent” and Sean Hannity has to stop enabling him. I would really like to know how 86% of Republicans are square with this.
11
The only question with these two is: Whom will betray the other first? And, which will first claim there was nothing to betray.
12
Where is the agreement? Has the press been left out?
3
If Trump was wiling to abandon his denuclearization preconditions and talk to Kim -- he could have done it without bringing us to the brink of nuclear war, and without allowing Kim to speed up, advance and complete his nuclear and ballistic missile programs. He could have met at the beginning of the administration without putting the country through 500 days of his bombast and chaotic approach to leadership and been lauded as a disrupter and bold leader for doing something other presidents hadn't -- while stopping Kim from developing further capabilities with the same pause in training exercises, security guarantees, etc.
Instead, despite his bombast and threats he ended up allowing Kim to complete his program, praised his authoritarian leadership, gave him equal footing and provided him concessions without much in return -- while concurrently tearing up the Iranian agreement that was being complied with and allowing the Iranians the excuse to restart their program and get to where Kim got by taking away their concessions.
Now he is trying to sell this as logical, reasonable move that he personally deserves applause and a great pat on the back for. Trump's idea of making a better deal with Korea than Obama made with Iran is giving two of our greatest enemies the incentives to complete their nuclear and ballistic missile programs before we engage and make concessions with them.
Only in the Trumplandia part of the US and its media outlets does this make sense.
18
North Korea was never a threat anyway. All they wanted was a nuclear deterrent as a guarantee of regime stability. Even someone as mentally negligible as Donald Trump probably knew this. It's another con game--"I saved you. Me, all by myself, which nobody in history has ever done. If this were 1789, I'd still be president, not George Washington."
3
Yep, Trump, as he likes to say, is 'running it' - that's America and into the ground.
6
The North Korean threat and our response is way overblown. The main treat to the U.S. is our corrupt government and leadership. Rather than play into every attempt the President makes to gain attention, if the Press daily discussed methods to disempower and defeat this administration our future would be brighter
17
Am I the only one who sees that the message of the Trump Kim summit is that if you want to get the USA to capitulate all you need to do is to develop nuclear missiles that have the potential capability of hitting the USA. Do that and you get whatever you want. Does anyone else see this?
31
Yup. Canada's program launched last week. We've got everything we need already, from reactors to fissile material to technology. Who needs missiles? Ports are perfectly accessible and it doesn't really matter if you sink the ship before it docks...
It's hard to find a subject where Trump is right but it seems that he studied the old wisdom "keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer"
I don't know who his friends are except for Cohen and Manafort.
But Trump is following the "Wisdom" rule by keeping Kim and Vladimir "closer" than anybody.
Maybe he has the right idea. There's a lot going on and i'm not so certain of everything.
The readers who are so certain, are probably smarter than i am.
1
I’m sorry if you cannot see that the emperor wears no clothes!
1
He treats true allies like enemies and true enemies like allies. He has no master plan, is ignorant of all history has taught us, is unable to think strategically and believes he can size up situations in a minute. He is a danger to our country and our founding principles.
2
Keeping one's enemies closer is one thing. Alienating our long standing allies is another.
2
In fact, if Trump does not threat N. Korea, the N. Koreans would not threat the US.
Being almost 18 months in the oval office, Trump has had no achievements so far. What other options does he have other than a false claim of victory? Kim has the upper hand now, and Trump is just lying to his supporters.
10
Achievements in office? What about the "Rose Garden Beer Party" which took place in May of 2017? The House Republicans and Trump celebrated the House repealing Obamacare with a Presidential signature at the ready. Alas, the party was premature. McCain delivered the fatal blow to their premature celebration. What they did was spike the ball on the 5 yard line. What a bunch of miscreants.
If you take anything Trump says about Trump, North Korea or anything else at face value, you need to reassess.
12
American voters will need to develop their collective memory to that of the elephant. We need to remember that for over 40 years we have been rolled by Republican policy. The wage disparity, wealth inequity and erosion of our social safety nets while our infrastructure crumbles, is a result of right wing think tank attacks on the middle class. Remember!!! Republicans play the long game, they know they will get hammered in the 2018 midterms, they may be hammered in the 2020 generals, they understand that they are sure to lose power for some time.
However the long game play is that Republicans are stocking the judiciary, from top to bottom with right wing ideologues, who will undermine any progressive measures through the courts for the next 25 to 30 years. Their control of power through the courts will last long enough for them to take over the reins of Federal/State control eventually where the right wing can continue their assault on Mr. & Mrs. Working, Working Poor & Poor, until it is just royalty and serfs.
Mid term elections are not the time to take a nap. Voter apathy is why we are in this present nightmare. Get our and vote in every election cycle like your life depends on it!
21
Its an unclear path because no world leader has has gotten this far on this issue as this president, President Donald J. Trump. A hermit kingdom, rogue state threatens the peace of Asia and the peace of the world. How should this regime be dealt with? Trump the visionary has decided to try something completely contrary to all conventional wisdom on the subject. Instead if trying to placate the regime’s blackmail he threw down the gauntlet. Mr. Kim came to his senses. It is far from over but we’re off to a good start.
Trump threw down a plateful of ribs is more like it.
Giving away all leverage to a 3rd generation dictator does not qualify as “visionary”.
12