Trump, the boastful salesman -- or chump?

As the New York Times' Max Fisher wrote:
"Almost any talks between the United States and North Korea, while those talks are ongoing, significantly reduce the risk of an accidental or unintended slide into war, which could kill millions. . . .  That's a big deal."

I agree.   And this may be the first time I've ever wanted to say something positive about Donald Trump.   And then he has to go and spoil it by claiming too much.  

On arriving back from Singapore, he said:  "Everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office.  There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea."

How so?   Yes, the risk has been reduced.    But we got here on the whim of one unpredictable, erratic leader (Trump) in response to the decades-long preparation of nuclear strength as a bargain chip by a despotic killer of his own people (Kim).

As the New York Times points out:  Trump made this claim, even though Kim "has not given up any of his warheads or missiles, not dismantled any of his 141 known sites devoted to the production or use of weapons of mass destruction other than blowing up a test site."     Remember, Kim also has chemical and biological weapons -- not even mentioned in this negotiation.

The Times continues:  "The critical question is what comes next? . . .  whether the follow-on negotiations can close the gap between the United States and North Korea on the definition of denuclearization and lay out specific, verifiable steps that Pyongyang will take to reduce the threat posed by its nuclear weapons.

Bruce Klingner, a Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation . . . said the joint statement signed in Singapore did not even commit North Korea to do as much as it promised in deals negotiated in 1994 and 2005 that it later failed to live up to."

So let's hope that Trump is right in his assessment of Kim's motives.   Or that Trump is the consummate salesman that he boasts to be, when he tried to seduce Kim by the glories of the real estate possibilities of North Korean beaches as the ideal site for condos.   Beautiful condos;   the most beautiful hotels in the world.   Right there where they fire all those cannons from now.

Listen, if it works, I won't complain -- will even give Trump some credit (though not, I think, a Nobel Peace Prize).   Doing something on a whim isn't the criteria for that award;   it should be a sustained commitment to a long-range value of true world peace, especially when achieved at some sacrifice.   Trump wants a Nobel as a self-aggrandizing trophy and because . . . well, they gave Obama one, didn't they?

Let's hope the on-a-whim plan works.    So far, Kim seems to be the wily one and Trump the naive, fawning rube.   Maybe it's all part of Trump's plan.

Ya think?

Ralph