June 13, 2018
After the historic summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un would it be too much to give Trump some credit for this accomplishment? Apparently the answer for many is a resounding “yes”. The left, as well as the mainstream media, rather than give the President plaudits for beginning talks with the Hermit Kingdom leader, have nothing but condemnation.
It’s perplexing that many in the media, and those on the left, just a few months ago, were accusing Trump of provoking a nuclear war with North Korea. Now, that the two men have sat down to attempt to reach an agreement and repair relations Trump is being accused of only granting the meeting to Kim to serve as a distraction from other possible negative news stories. This critical coverage by most of the media could be perceived as a wish for Trump to fail.
Unbelievably, Brian Todd reporting for Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday was making a case for how terrible it would be for Kim if he did denuclearize his country. His claim was that if Kim allowed his countrymen to be exposed to the luxuries of the West that he would lose his stronghold on them and put himself in the crosshairs for assassination. Why is CNN Making the case that it would be bad for the leader of North Korea if he gave up his nuclear weapons in exchange for opening his country to the riches of first world countries? Is this really journalism?
CNN Transcipt June 12, 2018
TODD (voice-over): Tonight, experts warn that while Kim would certainly want more cash coming into his country, the dictator knows if he really opens North Korea up to western investment, it could spell his doom.
MICHAEL GREEN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ASIA AND JAPAN CHAIR, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: It’s like opening the window of a submarine underwater to get more fresh air. The North Koreans know that that is the beginning of their undoing.
TODD (voice-over): Letting western companies like McDonald’s come in, analysts say, means letting more information into North Korea, something the paranoid regime doesn’t want its hermetically sealed population to have.
Because it’s so closed, most North Koreans believe what they’re taught in school, that Kim is something akin to a living God. That their country is superior.
GREEN: When the information and the choices and the money flows into the pockets of North Koreans and they realize that they are living in a hellhole on Earth, not the paradise or the pure race they were told, it can — it entropy, it’s chaos.
TODD (voice-over): Which could lead to Kim’s assassination and the destruction of his regime. That’s a risk that President Trump could be downplaying or misunderstanding when talking about how North Koreans feel about their Supreme Leader.
A common refrain among the many naysayers was that Trump and those praising this summit were being hypocritical because of their reproach of Obama when he met with Raul Castro in Cuba. The problem with this comparison is that the two events have nothing in common. The biggest discrepancy is that Cuba does not have nuclear weapons that are a threat to our country. Further, our country gained nothing by normalizing relations with Cuba.
Many in the mainstream media have made the claim that the U.S. has gained nothing from this historic meeting. Their dislike of Trump has completely blinded them to the actual facts.
Benefits to the United States
In anticipation of the summit Kim agreed that his country would completely halt its tests of nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles, in addition to shuttering its only nuclear test site. Perhaps the Never Trump crowd can’t remember way back to last year when North Korea conducted a series of intercontinental ballistic missile tests, creating tremendous anxiety regarding their capability of reaching the United States.
This past April Kim Jong-un became the first leader of North Korea to cross the demilitarized zone since the start of the Korean War when he stepped across to shake hands to meet the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in. A joint statement signed by both leaders following the talks read in part that “There will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and thus a new era of peace has begun”. Both men agreed to sign an official end to the Korean War sometime this summer. President Moon credited Trump for bringing the two Koreas together, and even stated that he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize.
Last month Three United States citizens being held hostage in North Korea were released. Most assuredly their release was a by-product of improved relations between our two countries. Only a complete partisan could evaluate their release as having nothing to do with the President.
Kim has also pledged to help identify and return the remains of Americans from the Korean War. There are almost 8,000 American soldiers declared missing in action during this war.
Lastly, although outlined by a light framework, Kim has agreed to rid his country of nuclear weapons. It remains to be seen if this will actually come to pass. If it does it will be a long process with many more negotiations. Trump has acknowledged this point. He even self-effacingly said that if in a couple of months this agreement falls apart that he will make an excuse for its demise.
However, it is indisputable that relations with North Korea are better today than they have been in decades. It cannot be denied that Trump’s unconventional style has shaken the status quo, bringing North Korea to heel. The residents of Hawaii that were panicked by a false ballistic missile alert in January can certainly rest easier now that tensions have been defused.
If Trump is successful the media, and Never Trump faction of our country will be forced to actually praise, and give credit to the president they despise and have attempted to tear down since he announced his candidacy. This will be almost as miraculous as a denuclearized North Korea.
