This was obviously inevitable. I’m curious, though, if Trump really will do a 180 and go back to the “bloody nose” approach, or he will just pretend like things are going great indefinitely. I think he’s more concerned about admitting being conned than actual global nuclear security, so I believe the latter is more likely. Kim Jong Un is smart enough not to do a nuclear test for a while, so the delusion will probably be mutually reinforced for a long time.
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So will his peeps.
And the beat goes on.
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North Korea got stuff by building a few crappy nukes. Some idiot said it was OK if they would let him suck up to Mr. Kim in a photo op. So by keeping the nuke production process going it is likely that NK will get more stuff they need like food and fuel. Kim has solidified control of his dictatorship and greatly enhanced NK’s status as equal to or a tad better than what’s left of the U.S.A.
There is only an upside to the continuation of NK’s nuke production.
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Trump et al. don’t believe the work of US intelligence agencies. They won’t believe this, either. Deep state, undermine Trump, etc. etc.
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Oh and can we also point out for the nth time how sh*t the credulous press has been on this? All the hot takes on how “game-changing” the meeting of two authoritarian liars was. Awful.
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This has happened with North Korea over and over again. Go on and read the full text of the so-called agreement and tell me where in it they pledged not to increase production of nukes. All they said was they wanted to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.” There’s nothing in it that says they can’t or won’t build more bombs. It’s typical, and it could have been expected, and it clearly shows that as a political entity they’ve figured out something our own society is only gradually learning—that Trump is weak, stupid, and easily manipulated. #MAGA
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I agree. This was never about security, it was about Der Mankindertweetenfuhrer looking tough and strong. Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un has received the message loud and clear that all he has to do is feed Mankinder’s ego and ability to ignore reality and he can nuke up to his heart’s content.
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Please do, and include examples, because I remember a lot of skepticism about this.
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Actually, Kim Jong Un can’t do nuclear testing for awhile. His last series of tests caused the interior of the mountain he used as a test site to collapse - it was no longer usable.
It takes time to find a good location for the next test site, and the boring of tunnels through hard rock to actually build the test facilities will take even longer.
So Trump is taking credit for a test pause that has absolutely nothing to do with him.
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The immediate face-value premise for the comment was that this is not the time to conclude that Trump lacks negotiating powers because there is not yet enough evidence to draw that conclusion.
The premise behind the premise is that there is in fact some amount of evidence that would allow that conclusion to be drawn – which is false to everyone who believes in Trump’s negotiating powers because no amount of evidence can ever dislodge a conclusion that was never evidence-based in the first place. (You know, like the Repubs explaining why it’s always too soon to talk about gun control.)
So the comment implicitly begs the question (yeah, I went there) of how much evidence it takes to cause a change of mind about Trump’s negotiating powers, because the answer to that question, which reveals the falsity of the premise (no amount will ever be enough), is embedded in the statement.
And since it was all a meta-comment rather than an actual comment, I think it is really best characterized as a – as a –
{checks mirrors}
{hits turn signal}
{spots @irasdad’s taillights in the distance}
{slides back into snark lane}
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“There is absolutely unequivocal evidence that they are trying to deceive the U.S."
The White House?
U.S. intelligence agencies believe North Korea has secretly upped fuel production for its nuclear weapons arsenal, according to NBC.
In retaliation, Bolton is planning a nuclear strike on Teheran.[*]
[*] Bolton is always planning a nuclear strike on Teheran.
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Yep. And fire is hot.
Honestly, how did so many Americans not know this guy’s been a colossal fool and con man for decades?
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Chirp Chirp.
That’s it. The full response. Need it repeated?
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You mean like taking credit for the economic upturn that began during his predecessor’s Administration? Or claiming that trade wars are “easy to win”? As always, the question is does this fat blowhard believe his own lies, or is he just the greatest con man the world has ever known? I’m going with the former, but the sad part is how many rubes lap up his cock and bull stories.
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All-purpose pick-em response to daily Trump embarrassment:
It’s not okay to have a
racist
misogynist
narcissist
fraudulent
idiot
criminal
for POTUS.
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(whoops, screwed up this reply and TPM’s anti-spambots are making it tough to repost)
Don’t get me wrong, there absolutely was (and is) skepticism, but I’m thinking more of the general journalistic sin of having headlines of the form “(ridiculous and almost certainly false assertion), Says Trump” without pointing out that the assertion is indeed ridiculous and almost certainly false. e.g.,
My own personal focus has been on the return of US remains from the Korean War, which I see as a low-risk act from North Korea and thus genuinely possible. The sequence of headlines generated over this aspect of the “agreement” over the past 2 weeks is simply sad:
Maybe I’m just cranky, but the willingness of many ostensibly neutral outlets to feed into the charade is annoying, to put it mildly.
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Trumpp did well. Kim pledged eternal support for the denuclearization effort. Our worries are over.
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Yeah, but how about that sweet deal he’s working to build condos on the beaches of the DPRK? See? WINNING.
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He’ll never leave our scythe.
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Your winnings, sir…
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