President Trump talked about the television ratings and the excellent treatment Kim Jong Un gave three American captives sentenced to hard labor. The theatrics continued hours later with a tweeted announcement of a summit. Is treating a nuclear-armed hostage-taker like a reality contestant risky?
With bright lights illuminating the middle-of-the-night darkness on the tarmac and a gigantic U. S. flag as a backdrop, President Trump strode toward waiting cameras with three Americans newly freed from prison in North Korea. He gushed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un « really was excellent » to them. He joked to reporters that their appearance « probably broke the record for television ratings at 3 o’clock in the morning. »
The theatrics continued hours after that arrival celebration at Joint Base Andrews, Md., outside Washington. With a morning tweet, Trump announced that « the highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th, » adding details that the president had teased out for weeks.
Americans are now accustomed to Trump’s penchant for turning domestic policy battles and global disputes into media narratives, complete with heroes, villains, moments of high tension, happy endings and, of course, a star — himself. But the first reality television host to assume the role of president is treading new ground in dealing with North Korea, an isolated, nuclear-armed foe that has used brutal tactics against its own people as well as foreigners to keep the Kim dynasty’s grip on power.
Otto Warmbier, a college student who was the last American to leave captivity in North Korea, came home in June in a coma from his apparent tortures and died a week later. Kim’s release this week of the remaining, seemingly healthy U. S. citizens held prisoner — a goodwill gesture in advance of the summit — was celebrated by Americans across the political spectrum, with even some of Trump’s toughest critics giving him some credit.
While Trump paid tribute to Warmbier at Andrews, he did so without indicting Kim for the young man’s treatment — or for the imprisonment of the three men beside him. He left it to one of the three captives, Kim Dong-chul, to briefly describe the forced labor he endured.
The celebration was at odds with past administrations’ lower-key receptions for Americans released from foreign prisons.
Bill Richardson, a former congressman, New Mexico governor and United Nations ambassador, twice brokered the release of prisoners from North Korea. He recalled that both instances attracted broad media attention but that neither time were he and his party greeted by a president upon their return.
Trump’s tarmac fete was reminiscent of the televised Rose Garden victory party he hosted with House Republicans last year after they voted to repeal President Obama’s healthcare law. The string quartet and self-congratulations proved premature — predictably, many said. The measure died in the Senate.
Similarly, Trump’s celebratory words and optimistic predictions for the upcoming summit — « I think it will be a big success, » he told reporters as he left for a political rally in Indiana on Thursday afternoon — belied the fact that, just as with healthcare, the harder negotiations are ahead.
