In time for the 2020 election So cynical. Like when Pompeo said on Monday that the technical groups were making ‘rapid progress,’ but were in fact making none as we saw in the statement. Like all that CVID and Nobel hype they similarly knew to be unjustified. We all want /1
negotiations, but Team Trump’s approach is more like a typical Trump snowjob: lots of big talk; Trump’s unwillingness to prepare/learn; the structuring of goals around Trump’s interests rather than America’s, much less our allies’; the sneaking admiration of dictators; the /2
insouciantly made concessions; the shambolic disorganization; the general feeling of flim-flam and mendacity around the statements, such as ending milex bc jet-fuel is expensive (?) instead of just admitting that Trump gave that up in the KJU 1:1, or building condos in NK (?). /3
I hope Moon and the doves know what they’re doing. Trump is deeply uniformed and self-serving. He doesn’t care about Korea, Japan, human rights, democracy, peace, the rules-based order, or America’s national interest if it conflicts with his own (look at how he attacks US /4
institutions). He will make concessions and do foolish things in a flash, such floating a USFK withdrawal or saluting that KPA general. He is an extraordinarily unreliable counterparty. Engagers should be far more honest about the huge risks run by bringing in Trump.Were POTUS /5
Obama, or someone who took the office seriously, skeptics would be a lot less skeptical. In short, put all your hope in Moon JI, because Trump will drop all this and swing back to fire and fury in a moment if he thinks it benefits him.Everyone else who’s trusted Trump over the /6
years has gotten burned. Why would Moon and the South Koreans be any different? Just re-watch that Tuesday press conference again. It’s pretty obvious already. END
