Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Does farcical "summit" mean Trump is giving up?

Some time ago I predicted that Donald Trump will likely quit the U.S. presidency by June 21. Two points:

- People whose intelligence and judgment I respect have responded to that with skepticism. Indeed, friendly derision.

- When it comes to my overall record of political prognostication, events have proved me wrong, more often than not.

Having said that, and getting back to the title of this:
But, as it turns out, while Kim claims to be sold on the concept of denuclearization, he’s not so keen on the actual process. He wants to retain elements of the nuclear program, including some covert parts, as well as his missiles and nuclear warheads, in exchange for which the U.S. will end all sanctions. Desperate as he is for good news to offset the searing testimony of the guy he calls a “rat” and who calls him a “racist” and a “con man,” even Trump knows he couldn’t sell Kim’s conditions to the most adoring of his base. “Sometimes you have to walk, and this was just one of those times,” he said. 
But why didn’t he and the rest of the delegation know this would be what was on offer from Kim? 
Usually, before a summit is announced and the big dogs are called in to sign an agreement, the diplomats have worked out most of the details, or at least have a good idea where any remaining sticking points are likely to be and have game plans for dealing with them. Shouldn’t they have known and conveyed to the White House that Kim wanted all the economic sanctions gone but without surrendering all the elements of Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities? - Daily Kos
Trump is not smart, at all. But even the most primitive, single-celled life forms are able to sense when something is really, really wrong, and when it's time to desperately seek to "get out of Dodge," and so can he.

You may have seen recent suggestions that Trump’s personal wealth is hugely overestimated. I, personally, have long been of the opinion that there has never been a time when an honest, legitimate accounting of Trump assets minus Trump liabilities would have yielded a positive number, up to and including the present day. We’ll find out someday if I’m right or wrong about that one, too.


No comments:

Post a Comment