Summit Fail

When Donald Trump announced at the State of the Union that there would be a second summit with North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un, the big question, which many people overlooked, was, “why?”.

Now we know. Apparently, it was to prove that piece of paper both men had signed at the first summit in Singapore was worthless, empty, and total garbage. Trump claimed it had solved the crisis with North Korea and they were no longer a threat to us, South Korea, or Japan.

For North Korea, the summit was to gain more legitimacy in the world’s view and to receive relief of sanctions. Donald Trump walked away from the summit with nothing. They didn’t even have their planned dinner that evening. Maybe he should have flown in some hamberders.

North Korea walked away without receiving any concessions, but they did gain prominence. Trump came off looking confused and in Kim’s shadow. Kim came off looking in control and on an equal footing with an American president. Of course, that American president is Donald Trump and not a Barack Obama or George W. Bush, but he’ll take what he can get. Trump rarely looked comfortable and Kim seemed at ease. Frankly, I’m shocked Kim didn’t push him into the swimming pool they were walking by.

Those of us who are not members of the Trump Kool-aid-guzzling cult already knew Trump is not a negotiator. He negotiated his way down with Nancy Pelosi over the border wall. I’m not in the business of doing a lot of negotiations, but I know that when you start with a number the opposition is offering, that you don’t walk away with less. Watching Trump negotiate makes me think I need to get into real estate because there’s gotta be a lot of stupid people in that industry if it has made someone as stupid as Donald Trump a billionaire.

Trump even gave Kim Jong Un a waiver of innocence in the death of Otto Warmbier, the American college student the North Koreans held for leverage and returned to us in a coma a few days before he died from brain injuries they inflicted upon him. In exchange, Trump didn’t even get a “no collusion” from Kim or even a, “I trust him when he says he didn’t sleep with that porn star.”

The Trump team claim North Korea wanted all sanctions removed in exchange for very little. The North Koreans held a press conference, which is new for a country that doesn’t have an actual press, and said they asked for sanctions to be lifted only on sanctions that “impede the civilian economy and the people’s livelihood,” In exchange, they would shut down the North’s main nuclear complex, and offered in writing a permanent halt to the nation’s nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests. They wanted a lifting of bans on everything from trade in metals, raw materials, luxury goods, seafood, coal exports, refined petroleum imports, raw petroleum imports, but not on armaments.

The new normal in the Trump era is when two different versions come out from the governments of the United States and North Korea, who do you believe? North Korea has always lied and broken their promises. They have never made a deal with the United States they didn’t break. They lie to their people about their own reality and the state of their nation. But, our government’s message is from Donald Trump. So who’s telling the truth?

Here’s the new normal; North Korea told the truth and our president lied. Ugh. The State Department clarified the U.S.’ position on the rejected deal and it squares with what the North Koreans claim. Michael Cohen says you can’t trust Trump, and there’s nobody better to prove his point than Trump.

Now, the Vice Foreign Minister of North Korea, Choe Sun Hui said Trump’s reaction puzzled Kim and added that Kim “may have lost his will to continue North Korea-U.S. dealings.”

So, when are we going to lose our will of continuing to support and buy the lies of Donald Trump? How much longer will this nation accept the abject failure of a human being that is Donald Trump occupying our presidency?

They say it takes one to know one. Kim Jong Un has met with Trump twice and he knows what he is and is giving up on him.

You can’t trust the North Koreans, which Trump says he does. You also can’t trust Trump.

Creative note: I had eight ideas to choose from and drew roughs for each one. Why so many? I’m drawing for CNN today, and I think it’s safe to make that public now. So, I sent them nine ideas from which they chose one. This cartoon was chosen from the remaining eight and I had a couple of friends (Hi, Hilary and Quannah) help me select which one I should draw for you. I really liked a few of the others and I plan to draw at least one of them for Saturday. I’ll show you the other roughs on Sunday when CNN publishes the one they chose.

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