As an Irishman, I am a long-time admirer and defender of America and everything your people have achieved to make this world a better place — ranging from your founders highlighting the laws of nature to advancements in all aspects of life including medicine, standard of living, and communication to transport. I personally owe a debt to the American people that can never be repaid as I do not have to speak German.
On Tuesday, President Trump held one-on-one talks with King Jong Un in what was billed as a historic summit between the two leaders. The coverage and reaction to his summit has been stunning with both sides sharing their talking points — depending on your side in the media or social media, this meeting was either amazing or a disaster, Trump is either God or Satan and this summit will either end with a Nobel Peace Prize or war and his impeachment.
May I ask some honest questions? When did America only have two opinions and largely ignoring facts based solely on the politics of the person involved? Is it possible to both celebrate yesterday as a positive step but to also have some major concerns? Does anyone even want to have an honest conversation or do we only cheer for our team? Does anyone want to be consistent and purely call balls and strikes anymore?
President Trump
Let's start with President Trump. Does he and his administration, especially folks like Mike Pompeo, deserve credit for making this meeting happen? Yes, absolutely — and a lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to get to this point.
I believe any sane person in this world wants peace and makes it the ultimate goal in life — even if we differ in how we get there. If holding this meeting can help pave the way to end (technically) one of the longest wars in history, to bring peace and stability to the region, then we should be willing to be made uncomfortable and discuss it. The point with this discussion is to never forget your foundational principles, never surrender or be desperate for a deal at any cost and yes be willing to walk away if the deal is not positive.
King Jong UN
No matter how bad you want to celebrate yesterday as a victory, it is not. Let us not forget that yesterday changed absolutely nothing. King Jong UN is still the same evil despotic dictator as he was last week and has been since he took power in 2011. He is still the dictator of a country that the U.N. has called "one of the most repressive authoritarian states in the world". He is still the dictator of a country that has gross human rights violations committed by the government including, "murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortion, and other sexual violence". If that is what the UN is willing to say about them, can you imagine what the reality actually is? This meeting has not changed this and there is no evidence to suggest it will change going forward.
King Jong UN is still the same evil despotic dictator as he was last week and has been since he took power in 2011.
The second reason yesterday was not a victory, is because King Jong Un is a dictator. History is filled with dictators who are great at lying, having ulterior motives to hold meetings without telling anyone and also changing their minds. If you need reminding of this, perhaps do some research on Neville Chamberlain meeting with Hitler?
If you love Donald Trump please take this warning very seriously — do not put all your eggs in the basket of peace with North Korea. It is like gambling in Vegas, yes you might get lucky but there is also a major chance things go horribly wrong.
American Flag
I am not an American so I probably have no right to say this, but it troubled me greatly and made me sick to see the flag of the evil oppressive North Korea on the same stage as the American Flag. When I think of your flag, I think of it being raised at Iwo Jima, being planted on the Moon, being lifted up after 9/11, Betsy Ross stitching each star and being draped over heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice. Is it perfect? No, and nothing on this earth ever will be. The American flag represents man at its finest and a constant struggle to be better, to have more opportunities to pursue your happiness and to always stand against tyranny. The fact it shared a platform with a flag that stands for the exact opposite of America is something I wish had been given more discussion.
False Praise/Rhetoric
I will openly admit I do not understand part of the appeal of some of Donald Trump behavior and why so many justify it as rhetoric. Maybe it's why I would suck at politics. I speak very plainly, consistently and will never say things I do not believe. Yesterday President Trump called King Jong Un "very talented" and said he trusted him.
I understand the need for the President to build a foundation, but should it not be built on something more solid than either false praise (which I believe it is) or glancing over history? Would we be okay with schools calling Hitler, Stalin or Mao very talented? No, we would rightly be horrified and it would start a discussion online. We must be consistent, even when so many of our liberal friends are not.
Liberal Main Stream Media
There is a famous saying, "history does not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme". I won't go down to the media's level or the lowest level known to man — the Robert De Niro level and insult you or your profession. I won't even call you #FakeNews.
I will, however, point out how sad it is that you are continuing your long legacy of being on the wrong side of history. After all, your profession does have the legacy of being silent of the horrors during World War 2, hailed Neville Chamberlain as a real leader, grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory in Vietnam and loves to write puff pieces about Castro, Che and lately Karl Marx.
If Trumps motto is America first, what is yours? Is it ratings first? Is it whoever hates Trump the Most First?
Watching your coverage of this summit has been truly unbelievable and sickening. If Trump's motto is America first, what is yours? Is it ratings first? Is it whoever hates Trump the most first? Is it lies and deceit lives here? All you are short of doing during this coverage is writing a puff piece on King Jong Un and highlight how he really is misunderstood, or how he had daddy issues, or how he just wants to be accepted for who he really is.
Devil Is In The Details
The last reason you cannot call this a victory for anyone, is due to the lack of real details of exactly what was discussed on Tuesday morning. We currently have been given four very broad bullet points of what they hope to happen, but no real substance, deadlines, how it will be verified or enforced.
While it is still early, it seems there have been very few concessions made by North Korea and some pretty big ones made by America including ending War Games in South Korea.
Missing Piece?
The other critical missing piece of the jigsaw that I have heard very few are discussing is the U.S Senate — have they been briefed on exactly what happened? Have they been given the full details of what was discussed and proposed? What is their opinion on that? Have they discussed a plan of when a treaty would be drawn up and will the Senate ratify it? Or is this another unconstitutional deal done by executive order?
Conclusion
I really hope we will be able to look back in history on highlight June 12th as a pivotal day where President Trump started a long process of bringing an official end to the Korean War, with an official treaty ratified by the U.S. Senate which results in peace for all involved and where the people of North Korea gain more liberty and freedoms. However, until we have more details and start to see results we cannot offer a conclusion either positive or negative.
I really hope we will be able to look back in history on highlight June 12th as a pivotal day.
This journey will be a very long one, but it has the potential to be historic and if this happens President Trump will be written about and have a legacy that people will still be discussing and analyzing one hundred years from now.