Trump offered North Korea’s Kim Jung-un a ride home on Air Force One. The revelation is one of the most astonishing post-presidency facts we’ve heard yet. It might be good for all of us to remember that despite all the love between Trump and Kim, North Korea has a stronger nuclear program than when Trump walked into the White House. We got no concessions from them.
It is a key fact.
We here at this site have read a lot about the situation in North Korea. It is hard to appreciate the degree of isolation imposed upon its citizens. Most of them really have no idea how poor they are compared to South Koreans and the rest of the world. The situation allows the North Korean government to manipulate all media to the extent that people in the country believe that they are one of the world’s greatest powers and that the United States fears North Korea. It may seem ridiculous but most people in the country don’t know if the net, never mind a personal computer.
Prior to Trump, the United States never gave the North Koreans any video of a president talking about North Korea and sent diplomats that North Koreans wouldn’t recognize. The U.S. would not help the North Koreans to manipulate the situation further. All this changed with Donald Trump.
In four short years, Trump undid twenty years of carefully laid plans and probably did convince the North Koreans that they really were a world power. They had video of Trump walking north of the border line up into North Korea to prove it. We went to them.
Now imagine Kim Jung-un flying back into Pyongyang in Air Force One. Trump invited him to do just that. From the BBC [1]:
Trump’s second summit with Kim Jong-un, in Hanoi, Vietnam, did not go to plan. As negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear programme broke down, Trump left abruptly, saying to the press: “Sometimes you just have to walk.”
But before he departed, the then US president did make one astonishing offer to Kim.
Matthew Pottinger, the top Asia expert on Trump’s National Security Council told us: “President Trump offered Kim a lift home on Air Force One. The president knew that Kim had arrived on a multi-day train ride through China into Hanoi and the president said: ‘I can get you home in two hours if you want.’ Kim declined.”
John Bolton told us: “Trump thought he had a new best friend.”
Well, Trump doesn’t have any real friends here, nor “real” sons. Maybe it sort of makes sense.
We have no idea why Kim declined. It might have been a terrible error seen from his point of view. On the other hand, it might have reminded North Koreans that the country didn’t have an “Air Force One” on which he could fly home.
Meanwhile, Bolton says that North Korea wanted our joint war games with South Korea to stop. Trump stopped them because “they’re expensive.” The U.S. got nothing in return. As we said, their nuclear program is probably stronger now than before.
That is what happens when Biff does diplomacy like a bank loan with one of the few people he likes.
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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak