Who’s Flattering Whom?

Early on the morning of May 10, Donald Trump tweeted a dramatic 32-second video celebrating the return home of three U.S. citizens held until last week in North Korea. It was a made-for-TV moment, and the slick video ensured that millions of Americans who didn’t stay up until 3 a.m. to watch it live could experience this moment of triumph.

It was a triumph: for the three former detainees, for their families, for the president, and for the country. But it was also just a moment—a split second of joy amid decades of North Korean betrayal and duplicity. The president would be wise to expect that any diplomatic encounters with Kim Jong-un will be defined more by the latter than the former.