That was in Mr. Trump’s first term. Not only did the diplomatic effort fail, but Mr. Kim immediately hit the accelerator on his program and today possesses roughly 60 nuclear weapons, by some estimates, as well as missiles that appear capable of reaching the United States — exactly the combination Mr. Trump had vowed to dismantle.
For months now, proliferation experts have questioned whether Mr. Trump could also end up walking away from his efforts to check Iran’s nuclear program — especially now that he appears to be more focused on getting the Strait of Hormuz open [see immediately below] than on dealing with Iran’s stockpiles of uranium, which are buried under rubble after the United States bombed them in June 2025.
...
[In 2018] having labeled Mr. Kim “Little Rocket Man,” Mr. Trump met the North Korean leader in Singapore. After their encounter, he told a New York Times reporter that he expected that the North would dismantle its program fast. “It’s going to go very quickly,” he said after the summit. “I really believe that it’s going to go fast. And it is a very substantial arsenal. There’s no question about it.”
...[The meetings with Un] went down in history as a diplomatic failure. A second summit, in Vietnam, ended with a collapse of the talks. Mr. Trump went into the sessions ill-prepared, his national security adviser at the time, John R. Bolton, said later, and the effort fell apart when Mr. Kim refused to dismantle facilities outside the main enrichment and reprocessing center at Yongbyon.
...“Fallout: The Inside Story of America’s Failure to Disarm North Korea.”--Joel S. Wit, a former State Department diplomat who was involved in early talks with the North...
...
Trump defended his approach to North Korea in the Oval Office on Monday. Asked by a reporter whether he was prioritizing the interests of U.S. adversaries over allies, [BALLSY BY THE PENCIL! 👏] the president shot back [The only thing Trump shoots these days is blanks.]: “I’m making it much safer.”
Nataleee! Check the time.
10:08 am:
Trump approval falls to 33%, lowest of his presidency, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
Natalie will never leave him.
