I am both impressed and frustrated by President Trump.
On the one hand, it’s fantastic that he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo negotiated the successful return of three American hostages from North Korea. As I wrote earlier today, this is an unequivocal good at which only petty partisans would dare snipe. It’s an incredible blessing for the newly released hostages, their families, friends, and all their fellow countrymen.
On the other hand, I’m frustrated that Trump continues to speak highly of North Korea’s potbellied despot.
“We want to thank Kim Jong Un, who really was excellent to these three incredible people,” the president said early Thursday morning, referring to the safe return of Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim, and Kim Dong-chul.
This isn’t a first for Trump. Earlier, in April, he said that Kim “really has been very open and, I think, very honorable from everything we’re seeing.”
For Pete’s sake, stop praising Kim! He’s a vicious, violent monster who may just be waiting to stab you in the back. He is responsible for unimaginable human suffering and death. He deserves no laudatory comments, especially just because he returned three American citizens that he had taken hostage.
I understand the president is trying to strike a balance with Kim, especially ahead of their June 12 summit in Singapore, but there’s a way to do this without also showering the cruel tyrant with undeserved praise.
It was obscene when the American news media heaped an astonishing amount of glowing press on Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, during the Winter Olympics opening ceremonies. Newsrooms were rightly raked over the coals for the hysterical adoration they poured out in her honor.
What the president has said about Kim is not much better.
To be clear, the key difference here is that Trump is working toward a professed goal, and greasing the other June 12 attendee with flattery makes a certain amount of sense. American newsrooms, however, have no such defense. They elevated Kim’s sister for no better reason than they wanted to make the White House look bad.
Still, it’s a bad look (and idea) all around for the U.S. president to award praise to Kim, or any other tyrant for that matter. Such remarks legitimize monsters. Praise can also confuse and dishearten our allies, while handing our enemies an easy propaganda win.
I wrote today that it’s disheartening to see so many in media straining to find the downside to the White House’s successful retrieval of three hostages from the Hermit Kingdom. What the Trump administration has pulled off here deserves praise, not feigned outrage or naysaying for the sake of naysaying.
It’s also fair to say Trump must to do better when publicly discussing Kim.
Even if the president’s strategy is to soften up the North Korean tyrant ahead of the Singapore summit, these remarks are damaging. Trump has a duty is to reiterate America’s commitment to freedom and liberty. Describing the despotic leader of a what is essentially 47,399 square miles of concentration camp as “honorable” and “excellent” falls short of that mark.
