Donald Trump’s second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is just days away, and Trump’s months of Twitter-bragging about how much he would accomplish have turned into the claim that he’s “not in a rush” for denuclearization.
On Sunday, Trump told attendees of the annual Governors’ Ball that “I'm not in a rush, I don't want to rush anybody, I just don't want testing. As long as there's no testing, we're happy.” Kind of a step down from “tremendous progress” and “We will get it done together!”
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats recently undercut Trump’s claims of progress, telling Congress that Kim wouldn’t be giving up nuclear weapons any time soon … and not coincidentally, Trump is unhappy with Coats. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is doing a little better at the Trump administration official’s real job of sucking up, defending, with a straight face, Trump’s previous claim that he and Kim “fell in love.”
“Relationships matter, Chris,” Pompeo told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “They affect everything in our lives, whether it’s grand strategy in denuclearization or simpler things. Relationships absolutely matter, it’s important that the true leaders are able to effectively communicate. I have observed this over the past weeks and months, I watch them exchange messages, I watched our team understand the messages that the two leaders are providing.” Aww, how sweet, having a front row seat for a love story like this one.