“There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.”

[Rockfish1]

So Trump has announced, after his photo op “summit” with KJU, whom Trump praised in the glowing terms he reserves for brutal dictators.

Yes, it’s a good thing that we’ve stepped back from the nuclear war Trump had threatened to ignite, but let’s not pretend that Trump is anything other than a corrupt unfit imbecile. He has accomplished nothing here by giving KJU the summit North Korea has wanted for decades. The “agreement” is much less than North Korea has previously undertaken, and all of the actual substance of “denuclearization” remains to be determined — as it was before the big photo op. We don’t even know what Trump and KJU said to each other.

Prediction: Trump will never negotiate a better deal with North Korea than the one with Iran he tore up. Another prediction: His supporters won’t know or care about this. (“We’re America, bitches!”)

Note to Republicans: 87 percent of you approve of President Dunning-Kruger’s job performance. He doesn’t belong to your party. You belong to his party. There’s only one reality-based political party in this country. And you’re not in it.

 

[Rockfish1]

So Trump has announced, after his photo op “summit” with KJU, whom Trump praised in the glowing terms he reserves for brutal dictators.

Yes, it’s a good thing that we’ve stepped back from the nuclear war Trump had threatened to ignite, but let’s not pretend that Trump is anything other than a corrupt unfit imbecile. He has accomplished nothing here by giving KJU the summit North Korea has wanted for decades. The “agreement” is much less than North Korea has previously undertaken, and all of the actual substance of “denuclearization” remains to be determined — as it was before the big photo op. We don’t even know what Trump and KJU said to each other.

Prediction: Trump will never negotiate a better deal with North Korea than the one with Iran he tore up. Another prediction: His supporters won’t know or care about this. (“We’re America, bitches!”)

Note to Republicans: 87 percent of you approve of President Dunning-Kruger’s job performance. He doesn’t belong to your party. You belong to his party. There’s only one reality-based political party in this country. And you’re not in it.

William Saletan says what I think:

At the press conference following his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on Tuesday, President Trump called himself “an emissary of the American people” and spoke of “my instinct, my ability, or talent” for negotiation. “My whole life has been deals,” said Trump. “I’ve done great at it.”

Trump is indeed a skilled salesman, and his presentation of the new U.S.–North Korean denuclearization agreement is a fine sales job. But the target of that sales job isn’t Kim. It’s you. Trump and Kim are working together to pass off their toothless pact as a milestone. It’s a con, and you’re the mark.

Three times during his press conference, Trump was asked about North Korea’s failure to honor previous agreements in which it made similar pledges. Each time the question was asked, Trump blamed the collapse of these agreements on previous American presidents. As evidence, Trump claimed that during the summit, Kim had told him that North Korea lacked “confidence” in Trump’s predecessors. In a post-summit interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Trump said Kim had explained that “he was let down by the United States.” Far from challenging this statement, Trump used it to bolster his argument that no other American president could have worked with North Korea as Trump has. “I don’t think they honestly could have done it,” said Trump.

This is the key to understanding the Trump-Kim relationship: Trump isn’t competing with Kim or even trying to win him over. He’s using Kim to compete for status with previous American presidents. “A lot of people are saying it’s historic,” Trump told Stephanopoulos, referring to the summit. “We’ve done something that’s very unique. Nobody’s met with the [Kim] family … No president has, certainly.”

If Trump’s goal had been to maximize concessions from North Korea, he would have set high standards for the agreement, conveyed resolve, and kept his cards close to his vest. He has done the opposite. In the press conference, Trump blabbed about the limits of U.S. intelligence on North Korea: “probably less there than any other country.” He explained how we had detected Kim’s missile-engine-testing site: “We’re able to see because of the heat that it emits.”

. . . When your adversary wants concessions, you’re supposed to raise the price by projecting reluctance. Instead, Trump has expressed eagerness to do what Kim wants. Trump says he wants to end joint U.S. military exercises with South Korea—a long-standing North Korean goal—since he wants to save money anyway. He hints at a rift in the alliance with Seoul, grousing that South Korea doesn’t pay the whole cost of the exercises. And he signals that he’d be happy to pull U.S. troops off the peninsula altogether: “I want to get our soldiers out.”

. . . In the Singapore agreement, Trump hasn’t insisted that Kim accept clear methods of verification. Instead, Trump asks you to accept Kim’s vague assurances. “I do trust him,” Trump told Stephanopoulos. When asked how denuclearization will be verified, Trump offers mumbo-jumbo: “It’s going to be achieved by having a lot of people there, and as we develop a certain trust.” Trump says you’ll have to wait 15 years for proof that the deal was honored, since “scientifically,” it takes that long to denuclearize.

As usual, Trump is lying. And he’s happy to enlist Kim in the con. At the press conference, David Sanger of the New York Times asked Trump whether Kim’s promises were based on an adequate logistical understanding of “dismantling both the uranium and the plutonium processes” of his nuclear program. “He understands it so well,” Trump replied. “He understands it better than the people that are doing the work for him.”
​

Trump is a buffoon. It's astonishing that 40-odd percent of us can't see that.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

Trump is a buffoon. It's astonishing that 40-odd percent of us can't see that.

I think they see it. I think they are willing to have a buffoon as president so long as Rock (and others of us) are angry.

 

[CO. Hoosier]

William Saletan says what I think:

At the press conference following his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on Tuesday, President Trump called himself “an emissary of the American people” and spoke of “my instinct, my ability, or talent” for negotiation. “My whole life has been deals,” said Trump. “I’ve done great at it.”

Trump is indeed a skilled salesman, and his presentation of the new U.S.–North Korean denuclearization agreement is a fine sales job. But the target of that sales job isn’t Kim. It’s you. Trump and Kim are working together to pass off their toothless pact as a milestone. It’s a con, and you’re the mark.

Three times during his press conference, Trump was asked about North Korea’s failure to honor previous agreements in which it made similar pledges. Each time the question was asked, Trump blamed the collapse of these agreements on previous American presidents. As evidence, Trump claimed that during the summit, Kim had told him that North Korea lacked “confidence” in Trump’s predecessors. In a post-summit interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Trump said Kim had explained that “he was let down by the United States.” Far from challenging this statement, Trump used it to bolster his argument that no other American president could have worked with North Korea as Trump has. “I don’t think they honestly could have done it,” said Trump.

This is the key to understanding the Trump-Kim relationship: Trump isn’t competing with Kim or even trying to win him over. He’s using Kim to compete for status with previous American presidents. “A lot of people are saying it’s historic,” Trump told Stephanopoulos, referring to the summit. “We’ve done something that’s very unique. Nobody’s met with the [Kim] family … No president has, certainly.”

If Trump’s goal had been to maximize concessions from North Korea, he would have set high standards for the agreement, conveyed resolve, and kept his cards close to his vest. He has done the opposite. In the press conference, Trump blabbed about the limits of U.S. intelligence on North Korea: “probably less there than any other country.” He explained how we had detected Kim’s missile-engine-testing site: “We’re able to see because of the heat that it emits.”

. . . When your adversary wants concessions, you’re supposed to raise the price by projecting reluctance. Instead, Trump has expressed eagerness to do what Kim wants. Trump says he wants to end joint U.S. military exercises with South Korea—a long-standing North Korean goal—since he wants to save money anyway. He hints at a rift in the alliance with Seoul, grousing that South Korea doesn’t pay the whole cost of the exercises. And he signals that he’d be happy to pull U.S. troops off the peninsula altogether: “I want to get our soldiers out.”

. . . In the Singapore agreement, Trump hasn’t insisted that Kim accept clear methods of verification. Instead, Trump asks you to accept Kim’s vague assurances. “I do trust him,” Trump told Stephanopoulos. When asked how denuclearization will be verified, Trump offers mumbo-jumbo: “It’s going to be achieved by having a lot of people there, and as we develop a certain trust.” Trump says you’ll have to wait 15 years for proof that the deal was honored, since “scientifically,” it takes that long to denuclearize.

As usual, Trump is lying. And he’s happy to enlist Kim in the con. At the press conference, David Sanger of the New York Times asked Trump whether Kim’s promises were based on an adequate logistical understanding of “dismantling both the uranium and the plutonium processes” of his nuclear program. “He understands it so well,” Trump replied. “He understands it better than the people that are doing the work for him.”
​

Trump is a buffoon. It's astonishing that 40-odd percent of us can't see that.

From your link:

Trump is indeed a skilled salesman, and his presentation of the new U.S.–North Korean denuclearization agreement is a fine sales job. But the target of that sales job isn’t Kim. It’s you. Trump and Kim are working together to pass off their toothless pact as a milestone. It’s a con, and you’re the mark.
​

The US negotiating team is led by Pompeo, first in his class at West Point and a former editor of the Harvard Law Review. With him are two Koreans well experienced in diplomacy and the issues and history of the North. Also along is a Korean peninsula specialist from the Obama administration and a former navy intelligence officer. The "document" trotted out at the Singapore show obviously was prepared by staff, likely before the meet and greet, and probably by this team. I'm okay with all of this and remain optimistic.

 

[Rockfish1]

I'm okay with all of this and remain optimistic.

Of course you are.

 

[sglowrider]

Commentary: Kim Jong Un outmanoeuvred Donald Trump in Singapore
Regardless of what may follow after the Singapore summit, Kim Jong Un has shown himself to be the cannier deal maker, says Financial Times' Jamil Anderlini.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...res-donald-trump-in-singapore-summit-10427424

The surreal meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Singapore on Tuesday (Jun 12) was perhaps best summed up by the performance of former basketball star Dennis Rodman.
Wearing his "Make America Great Again” red baseball cap, dark sunglasses and a shirt emblazoned with his marijuana cryptocurrency sponsor, Mr. Rodman broke down in tears on CNN as he declared June 12 a great day for the whole world.

 

[sglowrider]

 

[Rockport Zebra]

So Trump has announced, after his photo op “summit” with KJU, whom Trump praised in the glowing terms he reserves for brutal dictators.

Yes, it’s a good thing that we’ve stepped back from the nuclear war Trump had threatened to ignite, but let’s not pretend that Trump is anything other than a corrupt unfit imbecile. He has accomplished nothing here by giving KJU the summit North Korea has wanted for decades. The “agreement” is much less than North Korea has previously undertaken, and all of the actual substance of “denuclearization” remains to be determined — as it was before the big photo op. We don’t even know what Trump and KJU said to each other.

Prediction: Trump will never negotiate a better deal with North Korea than the one with Iran he tore up. Another prediction: His supporters won’t know or care about this. (“We’re America, bitches!”)

Note to Republicans: 87 percent of you approve of President Dunning-Kruger’s job performance. He doesn’t belong to your party. You belong to his party. There’s only one reality-based political party in this country. And you’re not in it.

 

[sglowrider]

The internet remembers Don.

 

[Fro]

Just imagine if Obama did this, lol. GOP would probably be calling to impeach him.

 

[SuperHoosierFan]

View embedded media

Just imagine if Obama did this, lol. GOP would probably be calling to impeach him.

This forum would probably crash

 

[Ohio Guy]

This forum would probably crash

If he did it while wearing a tan suit, the whole internet would have been irrevocably broken.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

So there may not be a nuclear threat, but North Korea is still hacking.

 

[SuperHoosierFan]

If he did it while wearing a tan suit, the whole internet would have been irrevocably broken.

While wearing a tan suit and asking for fancy mustard... tear a hole through the universe

 

[sglowrider]

 

[sglowrider]

Wouldn't it be great to be friends with Kim?! Very talented guy who loves his people.

I don't know about you but having multiple photos of a murderous dictator seems a tad odd... For the leader of the Free World.
Just sayin'..

 

[Capitol Hoosier]

View embedded media

Wouldn't it be great to be friends with Kim?! Very talented guy who loves his people.

I don't about you but having multiple photos of a murderous dictator seems a tad odd... For the leader of the Free World.
Just sayin'..

Those will be replaced with the ones with Putin after next month. Or perhaps he'll start a new wall of photos.

 

[SuperHoosierFan]

Those will be replaced with the ones with Putin after next month. Or perhaps he'll start a new wall of photos.

Fox hasn’t given me my marching orders on how to justify/validate/defend this love of murderous dictators. Don’t worry, I’ll be back when I get ‘em.

 

[sglowrider]

Those will be replaced with the ones with Putin after next month. Or perhaps he'll start a new wall of photos.

I am sure Putin will pay for that.

 

[sglowrider]

But I thought the North Koreans were destroying their missiles and shutting down their nuclear facilities? Don't tell me Donnie lied to us. He would never.

So I am guessing Mission not accomplished?!

 

[hoot1]

No, NK is selling all their nuclear stuff to countries such as Iran and Syria (smile).

 

[sglowrider]

Apparently, satellite images show that North Korea are rapidly upgrading one of their nuclear reactors used for their weapons program.

Surely Kim wasn't playing Trump when he said they'd denuclearise?

North Korea making 'rapid' upgrades to nuclear reactor despite summit pledges
Monitoring group says work shows why a denuclearisation deal rather than a ‘statement of lofty goals’ is needed

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/27/north-korea-nuclear-reactor-upgrades-summit-pledges

North Korea has continued to upgrade its only known nuclear reactor used to fuel its weapons program, satellite imagery has shown, despite ongoing negotiations with the US and a pledge to denuclearise. Infrastructure improvements at the Yongbyon nuclear plant are “continuing at a rapid pace”, according to an analysis by monitoring group 38 North of commercial satellite images taken on 21 June.

The cooling system for the plutonium production reactor has been modified and at least two new non-industrial buildings have been built on the site, possibly for use by visiting officials. A new engineering office building has been completed and construction has continued on support facilities throughout the complex, according to a blog post written by Frank V Pabian, Joseph S Bermudez Jr and Jack Liu.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

Apparently, satellite images show that North Korea are rapidly upgrading one of their nuclear reactors used for their weapons program.

Surely Kim wasn't playing Trump when he said they'd denuclearise?

North Korea making 'rapid' upgrades to nuclear reactor despite summit pledges
Monitoring group says work shows why a denuclearisation deal rather than a ‘statement of lofty goals’ is needed

View embedded media

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/27/north-korea-nuclear-reactor-upgrades-summit-pledges

Are you going to believe satellite photos, or Trump? Clearly that group has trumped up those photos.

 

[sglowrider]

Are you going to believe satellite photos, or Trump? Clearly that group has trumped up those photos.

How silly of me! I should have trusted my instincts and believed Trump.

Afterall they trumped up that grab them by the pussy video too; all the money laundering accusation which really is/was Trump being just a nice hospitable guy towards people who happened to be Russians -- in fact we should nominate Trump to be a living saint at this point. The stuff he has done to make the world a better place.
He just gives and gives...