The Russians appear to be crashing Donald Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong Un
“President” Donald Trump is on his way to Vietnam, finally going there to serve his nation, decades after questionable doctor’s notes excusing him from serving in the war there. At least he is going there this week, ostensibly in the service of our nation – but perhaps not. We might never truly learn about what Trump and Kim Jong-un discuss.
In advance of the visit by Trump and what clearly must be a coincidence, the plane of Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia, reportedly has landed in Vietnam ahead of Trump’s arrival. Trump has been touting that if North Korea will give up nuclear weapons, it will be dominant on the world economic stage, tweeting:
Meeting for breakfast with our Nation’s Governors – then off to Vietnam for a very important Summit with Kim Jong Un. With complete Denuclearization, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse. Without it, just more of the same. Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!
This is doubtful on many levels, including unlike South Korea or Japan or any other country producing electronics and that is an economic powerhouse, North Korea has nothing in terms of infrastructure or technology, other than its nuclear capabilities.
Trump also is talking about his bromance with Kim, noting that “we fell in love.” While being on good relationship terms with North Korea is important, we fear that Trump has fallen for good old-fashioned propaganda from a leader who knows how to play the game.
This meeting between Kim and Trump will be their second. In recent months, North Korea has not only failed to provide any accounting of its inventory, it also has failed to stop its nuclear weapons or ballistic missile programs. Intelligence officials reportedly are worried that Trump, in order to get the appearance of a “win,” will give away much, and have expressed concerns that Kim has no intention to denuclearize.
Given the way Donald Trump does international relationships, with one-on-one meetings and no surviving minutes, we might not ever know what is agreed to in Vietnam or what he has given to Kim for little to nothing in return. Last meeting, he agreed to end some military testing. Those from the media and others must also watch to determine why Lavrov just happens to have landed twenty-four hours ahead of Trump.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.