We have now had several opportunities to see just what the president, practitioner of the art of the deal, can do when given an opportunity to negotiate with other heads of state. Short answer: give away the store.

Start with North Korea. Trump gave Kim Jung-un the gift of prestige and credibility by meeting with him to discuss North Korea’s dismantling its nuclear weapons infrastructure. Worth it, says Trump, since after the meeting Kim was rushing home to begin that process “right away,” so that “there was no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.” Half right. Kim was indeed rushing home, but to begin the acceleration, expansion, and concealment of his country’s nuclear production. U.S. intelligence agencies report that North Korea is stepping up its uranium enrichment program in at least one undeclared facility and upgrading another. It is also completing an expansion of a plant manufacturing solid-fuel ballistic missiles capable of reaching U.S. military installations in Asia. None of which is something one does as a prelude to destroying these facilities.