What Really Makes Trump Look Weak

What Really Makes Trump Look Weak

Update, the morning after, June 12:  So true to form, Trump gave away the store and got nothing new in return.  Trump lavished luxurious praise on Kim.  Trump unilaterally gave up military exercises without warning South Korea.  Trump talked of removing our troops from South Korea, to just save money, no less.  Trump said he trusts Kim to denuclearize, with no set agenda or monitoring.  Wow.  A day after he condemned our best ally’s leader, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. to “a special place in hell” through the words of Peter Navarro.

First of all, I am not a viral columnist. Kim is not going to read this, so I am not undermining the President.

The first thing that makes the President look weak is that Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro, Trump’s lowly respected “economists”, have already set up Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau as the scape goat for possible failure of Trump’s talk with Kim Jong-Un of North Korea. Sorry Canada, but Trudeau is not a dominant leader on the North Korean’s agenda as is Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia, or Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Shinzo Abe of Japan. Trump appears weak because he would sacrifice the reputations of his two closest economic advisors in this way.

Trudeau, in fact, just repeated his stance that he would respond to Trump’s Steel and Aluminum tariffs with counter tariffs. Trump looks weak because he reportedly went berserk about this, and Navarro called this a stab in the back. What happened to Trump’s standard scape goats on North Korea of President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, President Bush, and President Clinton. Much more formidable leaders, and negotiators known to North Korea.  It really is a desire of Trump to not only deny free speech to Americans and their press, but to foreign leaders as well.

Trump made himself and the United States look weak because Trump showed that with no justification, Trump or any new President could cancel the nascent TPP trade agreement, threaten NAFTA and require renegotiation, drop out of the Paris Climate Agreement as the sole nation in the world to do so, threaten to drop out of NATO, and threaten to remove defense agreements with Kim’s neighbors South Korea and Japan.

We have saved for last Trump’s dropping out of an eight nation denuclearization agreement on Iran, which Iran was obeying, and reimposing sanctions, and threatening the other seven nations with dropping trade with them if they allow Iran to compensate with them for the US sanctions. Russia and China are part of the Iran agreement, which shows Kim that even his closest friendly and supposedly Communist nations have no influence to hold the US to a treaty.

Then there is Trump’s obsequiousness to Putin, and Kim may have been told what Putin has on Trump, and know that he can use it also. Just speculating on the latter part.

Remember that Kim hacked Sony Pictures and released embarrassing emails, as well as halted distribution of the movie about his assassination. We have no idea what else North Korea has hacked.

Trump appears weak because the Special Counsel Mueller has developed strong leads to Trump’s campaign’s collusion with Russia, which will embarrass Trump, although he can never be impeached by this Congress. Kim may know the Russian side of this.

Trump appears weak because he made a deal with China to save ZTE, which had been embargoed for violating sanctions and trading with Iran.  At the same time, Trump’s Organization got a $500 million loan for a project in Indonesia.

Trump appears weak because he can flip-flop hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.

Trump did not even write his signature book, “The Art of the Deal”.  It was written by Tony Schwartz, who has a low opinion of Trump.

Trump appears weak because he gives up his best trade before negotiations even start.  With Putin, he ceded Eastern Ukraine and Crimea during the campaign because there were Russian speakers there.  He had Russian sanctions removed from the Republican Platform.

Trump appears weak because he instantaneously gave away a meeting and recognition by the US presidency, without anything in return, and without consulting with State, Defense, or the Dept. of Energy, which has the nuclear experts.

Trump appears weak because he has not prepared for talks on a very complicated nuclear weapons complex, nor does he have a Science Advisor.  Trump doesn’t consult the State Department, or have an Ambassador to South Korea.  Kim visits his nuclear labs and missle launches.

Trump appears weak because he is meeting alone with Kim at their first meeting, in order to take sole credit for any progress, and earn the Nobel Prize.  That is putting more at stake than real progress on the Korean Peninsula.  Even that lone meeting is a gain for Kim.

Trump appears weak because he never brings up human rights violations when dealing with dictators, and Kim has a hundred thousand non-supporters in family gulags.

Trump appears weak because he congratulated Xi Jinping when he became President for life of China, and Trump said he wishes he could have that status.  Kim is already Supreme Leader for life.

Trump appears weak because he brags about having a 42% popularity.  Kim and his Dynasty has always had a 100% support, or else.  He executed his uncle for not clapping loud enough for Kim.

Trump appears weak because he wants a win to boost Republicans in the 2018 midterm, and to boost himself in his 2020 re-election.  Kim does not face any elections, ever.

Trump appears weak because he doesn’t have a wall, while Kim has a 160 mile long impenetrable DMZ, which is 2.5 miles wide.

Trump appears weak because he did not make 11 hole-in-ones and shoot a 34, like Kim’s father Kim Jong Il did the first time that he played golf.

Trump appears weak because he is not a God, as Kim’s grandfather and Supreme Leader Kim-Il-sung was.

Trump’s weaknesses are of Trump’s own making, not of some other leader.

About Dennis SILVERMAN

I am a retired Professor of Physics and Astronomy at U C Irvine. For two decades I have been active in learning about energy and the environment, and in reporting on those topics for a decade. For the last four years I have added science policy. Lately, I have been reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic of our times.
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