Archive for the ‘John Bolton’ Category

When Bill Clinton spoke to the families after the bombing of the Murrah Building, he became the president of the entire United States. Prior to that, he’d been the Democrats’ president. This is when George Bush became president:

This morning, at his press conference after his Singapore Summit with Kim Jong-Un, President Trump displayed the graciousness and temperament expected of our presidents. That doesn’t mean he’ll continue acting with this level of humility and graciousness. I suspect he’ll revert back to his combative type. Still, I sensed a perspective from him during this press conference that I hadn’t seen before:

Rather than being combative like he’s frequently been at his campaign rallies, this President Trump showed humility. It was apparent that he understood the enormity of the moment. It’s apparent, too, that President Trump was more than well-prepared for this summit. His understanding of the subject material is strong. His negotiating strategy was impressive. The team he’s assembled around him is the best since Reagan’s. Perhaps, it’s even better than Reagan’s.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accomplished more in 6 weeks on the job than John Kerry and Hillary Clinton accomplished in 8 years. Kerry’s ‘great accomplishment’ was the Iran deal, which has already been ripped up. Hillary’s accomplishment was the Russian Reset button. She screwed that up so badly that Putin didn’t take President Obama seriously for the duration of his presidency.

By comparison, Mike Pompeo did all the behind-the-scenes heavy lifting in putting the summit together, then bringing the agreement together. It’s time to recognize the Trump-Pompeo-Bolton-Mattis team as thoroughly impressive.

President Trump’s detractors have already started criticizing him. Nothing he does seems to be good enough.

Wow. If this is it… this is depressing. This is even thinner than most skeptics anticipated. I figured Trump wd at least get some missiles or a site closure or something concrete: https://t.co/tvhLVnlXpj. This looks pretty generic. Maybe there will be some surprise in presser? https://t.co/BbzZaeCzo0

— Robert E Kelly (@Robert_E_Kelly) June 12, 2018

President Trump got the North Koreans to a place no other president had ever gotten the nation. Unlike the other presidents who failed, President Trump is a world-class negotiator.

While it’s still best to be cautiously optimistic about achieving a lasting peace between North Korea and South Korea, it’s indisputable that optimistic signals keep getting sent from the Korean Peninsula. This time, the signal comes in the form of “the South Korean government said on Sunday that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, had told President Moon Jae-in that he would abandon his nuclear weapons if the United States agreed to formally end the Korean War and promise not to invade his country.”

It’s best not to get too giddy until this initiative gets fleshed out more. The devil is still in the details. Still, it’s another hopeful development in negotiations between North Korean President Kim Jung-Un and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea.

Further, “In Washington, Trump officials spoke cautiously about the chances of reaching a deal and laid out a plan for the dismantling of the North’s nuclear program, perhaps over a two-year period. That would be accompanied by a ‘full, complete, total disclosure of everything related to their nuclear program with a full international verification,’ said John R. Bolton, Mr. Trump’s new national security adviser.”

Pundits have questioned whether President Trump would get hoodwinked by Kim Jung-Un, possibly because they still don’t think he’s capable of being president. If there’s anything I trust about President Trump, it’s negotiating abilities. If that’s what the left is worried about, they don’t have to worry. The thing that they’re forgetting is the fact that Trump studied the deals past presidents have made. That’s led to a different negotiating style this time. That’s what’s led to this:

This is still the best protocol when negotiating life-changing treaties:

I trust that President Trump and National Security Adviser Bolton will verify that North Korea is living up to its obligations.

UPDATE: Moon Jae-In, South Korea’s president, thinks that President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize “for his role in talks to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and end the decades-long war between the North and South.”

If that happened, journalists’ heads would explode. Here’s hoping it happens.