This story about North Korea suddenly having a miniaturized nuclear warhead doesn’t feel right
Last night Donald Trump’s approval rating hit a crushing all time low when it clocked in at just 32% in the IBD poll, a few days after it had previously bottomed out at 33% in the Quinnipiac poll. This trend, which is effectively bringing Trump’s presidency near and end, has caused cynics to suggest that Trump might try to save himself with a war against North Korea. And now, like clockwork, a major newspaper is reporting that North Korea suddenly has a miniaturized nuclear warhead.
Today the Washington Post is reporting that, in its own words, “North Korea has produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, analysts say” (link). Wait a minute, where did this come from? The WaPo has a strong and consistent record of sourcing. But up to now, all reports and analysis have been that North Korea was still at least a couple of years away from pulling this off. And these kinds of breakthroughs don’t magically happen overnight.
So either this new Washington Post report is wrong, or every report on this matter for the past couple years has been wrong, or someone just handed North Korea a miniaturized nuclear warhead so that Donald Trump would have an excuse to go to war with North Korea. The trouble: any of the three of these scenarios would be stunning. And yet one of these unlikely scenarios now has to be true.
So let’s give this a moment to play out before jumping to specific conclusions. This new report may end up being further confirmed by the media, or solidly contradicted. But in the mean time, let’s keep a close eye on what Donald Trump and his administration do and say next. If Trump is indeed fabricating an excuse to go to war, it’ll be up to the media and the public to catch him in the act.
