The departure of President Trump from Vietnam without an agreement with Kim Jong Un was his Reykjavik moment. It was time to walk away with…
The departure of President Trump from Vietnam without an agreement with Kim Jong Un was his Reykjavik moment. It was time to walk away with no deal instead of a terrible deal. This marks a diversion from every other administration that caved to North Korea when faced with these difficult moments. It is interesting to look back over the days leading up to this summit at the comments from people responsible for decades of failed diplomacy with North Korea. These are the last people who should be giving President Trump advice, but they offer it publicly and constantly.
Samantha Vinograd, an assistant national security adviser to President Obama, offered unsolicited guidance on television to President Trump as he prepared for his second summit with Kim Jong Un. Vinograd, who had helped President Obama implement his disastrous foreign policy strategy, was hardly the only one casting doubt on the prospects of the meeting in Hanoi. It is safe to say that unsolicited advice from people who failed is not worth the time it takes to listen. Another failed “expert” is Victor Cha, director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council under President Bush, who warned that President Trump might accept a bad deal just to secure a policy win. “The timing, given what is happening domestically, makes him a lot more vulnerable,” he told the media before the summit.
“Funny to watch people who have failed for years, they got nothing, telling me how to negotiate with North Korea,” President Trump had tweeted out in response to the rash of unsolicited advice. “But thanks anyway!” He wisely ignored these naysayers because he has already proven that he knows better and has more effective advisers than these failed former government officials.
