Trump and Congressional Democrats both Engage in Petty Partisanship about the Hanoi Summit

The recent U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi has become the latest domestic partisan battlefield. President Trump now implies that congressional Democratswere at least partly responsible for the failure of negotiations with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. His allegations are exaggerated, but they are not entirely erroneous.The summit ended abruptly without an agreement on any issue or even the publication of a joint communique. That outcome was a surprise to many experts. Widespread expectations existed that the two leaders would issue a declaration officially ending the Korean War, and that they would establish liaison offices as the first step toward full diplomatic relations. Optimists also hoped for an agreement on initial measures toward North Korea ’s denuclearization in exchange for the lifting of some U.S. and international economic sanctions.For days following the summit, the president insisted that the meeting had not been a failure, merely one step in a very long, difficult process. He also contended that it became necessary to walk away from the negotiations in Hanoi because Kim insisted on thelifting of all sanctions merely for closing the Yongbyon reactor complex —just one of North Korea’s known or suspected nuclear facilities. The North Korean government denied Trump’s version of events, insisting that their negotiators had soughtonly a partial lifting of sanctions for that concession.In aMarch 3 tweet, though, Trump seemed to change his argument, att...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs