First, of course, there was Russian autocrat and puppet master Vladimir "Vlad the Invader" Putin (and Saddam Hussein and Muammar Qaddafi!). Then, more recently autocrat Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and budding Turkish autocrat Tayyip Erdogan. Some thought he really crossed the line when he invited Philippine President/ self- confessed murdering thug Rodrigo Duterte to the White House (Rump thinks he can't be that bad because he said Duterte has "high approval ratings").
But this is perhaps the most appalling example of foreign- policy- by- blurt yet, even by the low standards of dictator- admiring neo- fascist Donald "Rump" Trump:
President Donald Trump said he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un amid heightened tensions over his country’s nuclear weapons program if the circumstances were right.
“If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it,” Trump said Monday in an Oval Office interview with Bloomberg News. “If it’s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.” (our emphasis)"Honored," said one dangerous Giant Toddler to the other dangerous Giant Toddler. The same Kim who, it is estimated, has murdered over 300 people since coming to power five years ago, including his uncle and half- brother, some by anti- aircraft gun. The same Kim whose regime routinely threatens to rain nuclear hell on the United States and its allies South Korea and Japan.
We're going to go out on a limb here and say that nobody in the State or Defense Departments, or in the National Security Council for that matter, had an inkling this would suddenly and capriciously pop out of the nitwit's mouth today. They'll be back- filling and damage- controlling for the next few days or weeks now (on cue!). We're also certain the South Korean government will be delighted to hear that the Ignoramus- in- Chief wants to meet with Kim and perhaps cut a deal without their presence, as will Japan and China. In the meantime, this is a big propaganda victory for Kim; Kim's regime will think that the U.S. "blinked" and will therefore assume that its tactics of ratcheting up its bluster and brinkmanship have worked splendidly and should therefore continue.
We're also going to go out on a limb and say Rump thinks he's a very clever negotiator, and that he "alone can fix it." Whatever the ramifications of this latest example of Rump freestyling American diplomacy, it's clearly a fixture and not a bug in Rump's chaotic, incompetent style of doing business. Unfortunately, American foreign policy isn't supposed to be handled like a business deal in Manhattan, another lesson perhaps to be learned the hard way.
(Image: Little Caesar/ Giant Toddler)
