During his “negotiations” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi before returning home to the United States empty-handed, Donald Trump made a number of what could — and should — be considered unnecessary and almost grotesquely flattering concessions to the dictator of the tiny peninsular nation.
First, Trump withdrew the United States’ demand for a full accounting of North Korea’s nuclear program, something that should have been even more of a non-starter than even meeting with Kim in the first place. Then, in a stunning display of cowardice, Trump took Kim “at his word” that he’d had no idea of how American college student Otto Warmbier, imprisoned in North Korea in 2016, had been treated at the hands of his jailers — something so incomprehensible it beggars belief.
But perhaps the most offensive act of all by President Trump came while he sat at the actual negotiation table with Kim and their cadre of translators, and Trump addressed the reporters in attendance. After asking them if they were all “having a good time” in Hanoi — which they most assuredly were not, after having been booted from the hotel they’d spent weeks setting up in when Kim arrived and decided he didn’t want press there — they began to take questions.
The first was whether Kim was “ready to denuclearize,” which the Korean leader responded to by saying that he wouldn’t have been there if he were not. Seizing on the moment of levity, Trump turned to the questioner and said,
That’s a good answer. Wow. That might be the best answer you’ve ever heard?”
It was quickly clear that Trump was not there to negotiate, but instead to kiss Kim Jong Un’s sizeable backside.
The next question, however, asked in a completely even tone, and answered with a smile by Kim, elicited a response from Trump so craven I wouldn’t believe it if I weren’t about to put video of it in front of your face right now.
Without even a trace of irony, Trump turned to the reporter and said,
And don’t raise your voice, please. This isn’t like dealing with Trump.”
He smiled as he waited for Kim’s approval of his comment at the American reporter’s expense. “They don’t seem to be,” said Kim.
It’s truly a sad day when the kinder of the two leaders in a room isn’t the President of the United States, but a dictator who once killed his own uncle with an anti-aircraft gun.
Watch the exchange here:
Featured image via screen capture
