As I write, Trump is oozing over Kim Jung Un, declaring his undying affection for the mass-murdering dictator. The news networks are breathlessly covering every shift and burp as if each lurch was a significant historical milestone. Trump knew they would, and he’s preening. But me, I’m terrified. Trump is winging everything. I’d say that I don’t know what he’ll do, but I really do. We all know what Trump will do. Trump is only working for his own narrowly defined self-interest. This entire cluster… event is just a photo-op for him.
For all my complaints, I’d be delighted if Trump managed a success that’s eluded America for decades. We’ve been impossibly stupid about North Korea negotiations. Now, I won’t lie; if Trump succeeds, I’d feel a little torqued that it was the orange-boy who broke things free and got international relations moving. That said, I’d still be (moderately) happy if it happens. But I don’t believe it’ll be a breakthrough except as an accidental byproduct of Trump’s ego massage.
Trump is only pretending to be interested in foreign relations. It’s just another of his bald lies. Look at his other actions around our allies and our enemies. Trump’s only ‘policy’ is a fluttering combination of isolation and profit. If something happens outside the US that doesn’t involve Tump’s financial holdings, we already know he doesn’t care. Just in case you forgot the TPP, the Paris agreement, the Iranian agreement, or Trump’s newest trade wars, Trump just demonstrated at the G7 how little he values international standards, open trade, and anything about our allies. Trump openly distains our international relationships. He just started a feud with freakin’ Canada, for god’s sake!
I’d say that it’s as if Trump wants to crush our closest relationships on purpose, except for the “as if” part. He’s doing it on purpose. Trump wants America isolated and dependent on Trump as our only savior. He’s using the same tactics that every abuser knows by heart. And now we’re supposed to believe he’s deeply committed to… um… what was that country?
North Korea! Right! Little Rocket-Man. Yeah, deeply committed.
And our ‘free press?’ All the news media are falling into line just the way they always do. I’m watching the breathless coverage reporting each of Trump’s actions as if he was really planning on doing diplomacy. None of them seem to comment on how everything of substance is happening offstage, off camera, in an undocumented side-meeting. Do they think that’s an accident? The media miss the point just like they do every goddamn time.
Trump isn’t negotiating anything more substantial than the latest episode of his newest reality TV show. To Trump, the media coverage and endless TV idolatry isn’t something that happens off to the side of his primary job as President. The TV coverage is the entire damn point. Notice there have already been a ton of substance-free photo-ops? Trump doesn’t care about what happens in North Korea, South Korea, or Japan. Or Canada or Germany or Italy or any other country he doesn’t own a building. This is Trump TV.
And the on-air newspeople pat themselves on the back for how bravely their reporters shout pointless, silly questions that Trump and Kim pretend they didn’t hear.
We’re going into this with a profound mismatch between our goals. North Korea is negotiating for the recognition and acknowledgment. Trump already gave Kim equal standing with the US in exchange for nothing; the Sun King has no reason to concede anything else. South Korea is negotiating for stability and communication channels with the North, but for now, Trump has kept them out of the entourage because he doesn’t share the camera with anyone.
And Trump? What are his goals? Please! This is a classic Trump performance for his American base so he can hold power here. Trump doesn’t want anything more out of this than to lie afterward about how he’s ‘won’ compared to Obama. “Hey, everyone! Look at me being all international!”
Best case, Trump and Kim issue a mostly empty joint statement and Trump gets to go home and add “Nobel prize” to his stump speeches. Maybe they’ll release a joint paper about formally ending to the Korean War. Might happen if it’s only symbolic. Even at that, it sounds like a good thing, or good enough. It’d be pretty, and it won’t do much harm until Trump uses it as an excuse to withdraw U.S. troops. (At that point, it’ll get much worse.)
In the less-than-best case, imagine if this circus doesn’t finish according to that plan Trump sketched on his cocktail napkin. Suppose the great American Trump doesn’t get the press coverage Trump thinks he deserves, or Trump sees something that leaves him feeling unmanned. What might Donald Trump do to improve the ratings? How far would he go for that goal? All you have to do is look at his reactions to Canada to get night sweats.
Update (June 12): Trump and Kim issued their joint statement, and it’s empty as expected. They didn’t end the Korean War, but Trump jumped early, killing joint military exercises. Now Trump loves Kim more, and South Korean President Moon a little less. Oh, and the millions of Korean people involved?
Um, what about them?
