by Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle
Our President says he trusts the leader of North Korea, but the prime minister of Canada is dishonest and obnoxious.
We live in interesting times.
President Trump this week traveled to Singapore to hold an historic meeting with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. Trump deserves credit for having the courage to accept such a meeting, and for focusing on diplomacy rather than exchanging childish insults the way the two did just months ago. It is far better to be talking about issues rather than who has the bigger launch button.
But the juxtaposition of how Trump treats our neighbors and allies with his handling of a ruthless murdering megalomaniac is more than a little unsettling. In fact, it’s pretty weird by almost any standard.
Kim Jong Un has jailed and been responsible for the deaths of American citizens. He has threatened the Unites States with nuclear annihilation. He has executed many of his citizens and family members in order to consolidate his political power. He has insulted and threatened a wide variety of American presidents and politicians of all parties, and his representatives called Trump “a dotard”.
But after meeting him for five hours, President Trump said the North Korean dictator “loves his people” and added, “I think he trusts me and I trust him.” Trump also said the dictator has a “great personality”, a great sense of humor and is supported by his people (like they have a choice).
In contrast, Trump reneged on an agreement he initially approved at the recent G-7 summit because he didn’t like how Canadian leader Justin Trudeau spoke at a press conference. The president summed up his anger saying, “He gave out a little bit of an obnoxious thing. I actually like Justin, you know I think he’s good, I like him but he shouldn’t have done that. That was a mistake. That’s gonna cost him a lot of money,”
Trudeau’s apparent mortal sin is threatening a response to large tariffs Trump has placed on steel and aluminum. He says Canada will not be pushed around. What Trump complained about most is Canada’s 270 percent tariff on dairy products, something the president has cited as a threat to America’s national security.
Hmmm — he trusts the guy who kills Americans and threatens our country with nuclear weapons. But he goes full throttle after the leader of an allied, neighboring nation who has fought wars at our side because he thinks they are stealing our milk money.
There appears to be a bit of a consistency issue here.
Of course, Trump supporters will claim the president never gets any credit. They will point to the meeting with Kim Jong Un and remind us no other American president has ever done this. They will say he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.
If the summit with North Korea leads to peace and denuclearization (however that is defined), then give Trump his due. Give him the prize. He will have earned it — but only if his work yields substantive results.
In the meantime, we might consider moving some troops to the Canadian border. This milk thing could get out of hand quickly.
Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.
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