Many critics of President Trump take exception to his oft-repeated phrase “America First.” They read dark isolationist impulses into it, and predict a…
Many critics of President Trump take exception to his oft-repeated phrase “America First.” They read dark isolationist impulses into it, and predict a world where the United States has simply turned its back on the world.
But the president insists that “America First” is not “America Alone.” Where our interests align with others, he reassures us that America will work together to solve problems and explore opportunities.
I believe that’s exactly what’s happening to the decades-old North Korea problem. His “new thinking framework” has led us to the upcoming June 12 summit.
In fact, as I embark on my fourth trip to South Korea this year, I can confidently say the Trump administration has created the first real opportunity for negotiations with North Korea since 1999.
We’re at this juncture for a very specific reason: Mr. Trump doesn’t limit himself to the regular constraints of established foreign policy. That is, he thinks outside the box.
The purpose of the summit, as Mr. Trump officially mentioned, is to make it clear that North Korea ’s dependency and obsession on nuclear weapons is doing no one any good — not the world, certainly, and not even North Korea itself.
Mr. Trump has not led the international action to apply sanctions for sanctions’ sake. The goal of this pressure campaign has always been to persuade Pyongyang to engage in meaningful dialogue about a different future for itself and for its people.
So I welcome recent developments as potentially leading to a resolution of the nuclear issue and much more.
