This post has been updated.
After the White House on Friday partially walked back the abrupt announcement that President Donald Trump had accepted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s invitation to meet for talks, Trump touted his decision to meet with Kim in tweets on Saturday morning.
Trump told his Twitter followers that he had discussed his plans to meet Kim Jong Un with both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He said that both leaders were happy with his plans to meet the North Korean leader.
Chinese President XI JINPING and I spoke at length about the meeting with KIM JONG UN of North Korea. President XI told me he appreciates that the U.S. is working to solve the problem diplomatically rather than going with the ominous alternative. China continues to be helpful!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 10, 2018
Spoke to Prime Minister Abe of Japan, who is very enthusiastic about talks with North Korea. Also discussing opening up Japan to much better trade with the U.S. Currently have a massive $100 Billion Trade Deficit. Not fair or sustainable. It will all work out!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 10, 2018
A couple of hours later, Trump defended himself from critical media coverage of the administration’s quick acceptance of Kim Jong Un’s offer to meet.
In the first hours after hearing that North Korea’s leader wanted to meet with me to talk denuclearization and that missile launches will end, the press was startled & amazed.They couldn’t believe it. But by the following morning the news became FAKE.They said so what, who cares!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 10, 2018
The President also said Saturday that he believes Kim will “honor” his pledge not to conduct missile tests.
North Korea has not conducted a Missile Test since November 28, 2017 and has promised not to do so through our meetings. I believe they will honor that commitment!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 10, 2018
Trump’s enthusiasm for the potential meeting came after the White House made a concerted effort to exercise caution about the meeting. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Friday that the administration will not “have this meeting take place until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea.”
Facing questions from reporters about Trump’s decision to agree to the meeting without clear actions from the North Korean regime, Sanders pointed out that Kim did commit to stop testing nuclear missiles and allow the U.S. and South Korea to conduct joint military exercises.
“Let’s not forget that the North Koreans did promise something,” she told reporters in Friday’s daily press briefing.
He is such a tool.
Like giving a child a hand grenade. Oh well, I suppose it’ll be nice to have the North Korean embassy at 666 5th Avenue…in exchange for stealth bombers or something.
What a surprise! Cadet bone spurs was out over his skis.
The walk back has started.
Just another day in the Covfefe Republic – where all the weather is stormy, all the facts are alternative, and all the TV’s are tuned to Fox.
Better he indulges these masturbatory fantasies—it’s all he does all day anyway—than getting peeved and launching a nuclear war. Gotta give Moon credit, he distracted Trump with this gambit the way you distract a crying baby with a rattle.