tRump got played like a fucking banjo...

[cynatnite]

North Korea has wanted to be a major player on the world stage for some time. They felt being a nuclear power was the way to go.

So, they get their nuclear weapon/weapons. They gave the cold shoulder to tRump and his childish threats. Instead, they went directly to S. Korea's leader and started talking to him. The Olympics happened, N. Korea sent some athletes and they were buds with S. Korea. Oh, and let's not forget Pence's snub at the Olympics.

All the while leaving the US out in the cold, looking weak and impotent. N. Korea is calling the shots.

tRump needs a foreign policy win since he knows he's going to give the hawks what they want when he pulls the US out of the Iran deal. Off goes Pompeo, before he was SOS, playing at SOS. N. Korea decides to let the US back in the game...because sanctions and all that.

Now, it looks like tRump is rewarding N. Korea with a visit from POTUS. The prisoners being released are good publicity, but in the end it'll be the US giving into a nuclear powered N. Korea which was what they wanted in the first place.

tRump got played like a fucking banjo.

[mikeysnot]

1. Putin on the ritz

[Wellstone ruled]

4. Sure sounds right.

[dawg]

12. Indeed.

[mikeysnot]

20. Haaaaaa!

[Blanks]

2. Trump is trading our defensive capabilities...

In that part of the world for three hostages.

The South Korean leader wants a nuclear free peninsula.

We have nuclear submarines in that area. South Korea isn’t getting rid of their nukes, they’re getting rid of our nukes.

Trump is clueless.

[politicaljunkie41910]

9. We've been subsidizing South Korean's military for over 60 years,

so they are the ONE country whose wants should be our wants, without hesitation.

[rainin]

3. Releasing them before is a power move.

It heads off any claim that trump won their release through superior negotiating during the visit. N Korea looks magnanimous. When trump is there, N Korea is under no obligation to give the US anything.

[world wide wally]

5. If you want to know how the talks with NK will work out, just ask yourself what Putin wants

[RockRaven]

6. Trump is the most easy to manipulate/play POTUS in my lifetime

And the lifetime of any other human alive today. And given the speed of communication prior to that, it is safe to extend that timeframe to *ever*.

[dameatball]

7. I hope I am wrong, but I think it is impossible to explain this to his base.

Okay, I'm not wrong.

[Fred Sanders]

8. Logged in just to say....100% correct,, sir and not to be reported on not at all by corporate media.

The election of President Moon was the pivotal event, somehow "forgetten" in America but well remembered by the electorate, not to mention, again, the vanquished military and the old corrupt political dynasty...yeah, that happened.

It is apparently way to complicated for corporate media to explain...so much easier to cover the clown and his clown train circus without then having to cover anything of any relevance.

[Grins]

10. I'd have said a Stradivarius, but...

In your line of thinking I believe one reason North met South was the same reason the US civil rights took off in the 50's - Television. The rest of the country got to see in their living rooms what was really going on in other parts of the country and that got it all rolling.

In Korea - I think - Kim was about to be nationally embarrassed by a massive world sports event just miles from his border, cringed at the thought, and sent his niece(?) to the games where, unlike Pence, the biggest baboon in the monkey house, the South treated her warmly.

Throw in a damaged nuclear site, limited money, a snarling look from the Chinese, and things took off from there. Without the U.S. at all.

[skamaria]

11. Not so sure trump had any thing to do with it.

A few weeks ago Kim took his train trip to Beijing. Now he's talking peace treaty with the South Koreans and releasing the American captives with very little resistance! Oh! and talking about giving up his nukes. Maybe the Chinese are tired of his controversies and supporting him. Beijing would be better off with a unified Korea, good for business don't cha know! YMMV!

[cynatnite]

14. You're right...he didn't...

tRump's incompetence got the US the cold shoulder while N. Korea played nice with S. Korea. The only reason Kim Jong-un is willing to meet with the US, without stopping it's nuclear program, is to get sanctions lifted. tRump is easy to manipulate and flattery gets him bending like a blade of grass.

[Martin Eden]

13. Kim Jong Un looks sane and reasonable compared to ....

.... The President of the United States of America.

[Blue Owl]

15. The same banjo that played at Guiliani's wedding

n/t

[BlueTsunami2018]

16. This is all true, however, it's going to play here like Тяцмр won.

Just watch what happens. His idiot base is already declaring him a hero and a whole lot of people in the U.S. are clueless, his approval is going to go up. Optics and P.R. are everything. It doesn’t matter that what you said is the truth, it’s too complicated for most people to see it that way. They’re going to see this as a good thing because on its face, it is. Hostages were released. That’s the story.

[llmart]

21. This is the most important part.

Most Americans don't follow politics in depth. Hell, most of them just look at headlines without reading a full article and hear the talking heads on TV. This is not just for his idiot base. Already this morning I've heard on TV phrases about "Trump's diplomatic successes".
Another thing. Most Americans still don't take a world view of anything.

[BlueTsunami2018]

22. Yes. This is bad for us.

People don’t know Legitimate President Obama got 11 people out of North Korea and 3 out of Iran because he didn’t do photo ops when the releases occurred. It’s as if it didn’t happen at all in the eyes of the public.

One of his faults was being too classy and humble. You have to trumpet your accomplishments every now and then.

[Quayblue]

17. Kim Jung Un is an intelligent narcissist

He sees right through Trump.

[mercuryblues]

18. He got played like a triangle

Anyone can play that. Anyone can fool trump.

[jimlup]

19. And they will likely walk away with a deal that allows them to keep their nuclear weapons...

Shameful.

They will agree to "stop testing" and this will be meet with great fanfare and praise on both sides and probably a lifting of sanctions. They DON'T NEED TO TEST because they've already successsfully tested a freaking H-bomb. A careful observer will notice that North Korea will still have nuclear weapons at the ready should things go badly for them in the future.

It is horrible actually.