Trump Helpfully Practices the Art of the Deal

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.

Visiting South Korean president Moon Jae-in must have been disappointed that the headline from his meeting yesterday with President Trump is that the latter’s planned summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un might not occur.

Ironically, that signal may actually have improved the prospects for such a summit. As with Mr. Trump’s earlier statement to the effect that he’d skip such a get-together if it wouldn’t advance North Korea’s denuclearization – and wouldn’t stay if it didn’t, the President is denying the North and South Korean leaders alike the sense that they have leverage over an American leader desperate for negotiations and a deal.

Trump’s clear readiness to deny Kim Jong-un the legitimacy, let alone the benefits, of such a summit with him will maximize the chances of a useful negotiation – and hopefully spare us the ignominy and risks of a counterproductive one.

This is Frank Gaffney.