The Patriot Post® · A Walk Into History
Last week, while the 20 presidential wannabes engaged in two debates and often looked like squabbling children, President Trump was commanding the world stage during a trip to Asia.
On Friday, Trump tweeted, “I will be leaving Japan for South Korea… While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!”
The media, foreign policy establishment and armchair diplomats everywhere mocked Trump’s tweet, essentially saying, “Doesn’t he realize these meetings require months of preparation?"
These are the same critics who, when Trump tweeted tough responses to Kim in the past, warned that the president would get us into a war and that he needed to sit down and talk with Kim. Many commentators assured us that there was no reason to believe any meeting would result and that Trump would look stupid.
But lo and behold on Sunday, the president made history. As the New York Times put it, "From a tweet to a handshake to a historic 20 steps by an American leader into officially hostile territory."
The handshake in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) was a great photo-op, but it was more than that. The two men walked back across the border into South Korea where they met for an hour in the Freedom House, and announced that negotiations between the United States and North Korea would resume.
The Sunday talk shows were full of left-wing commentators and Democrat presidential candidates whining that North Korea still has nuclear weapons, that nothing has been accomplished, that Kim’s regime is still a threat. Today’s left truly resembles the "nattering nabobs of negativism."
Here’s a little reality check.
When Barack Obama took office, North Korea may have had a few nuclear bombs but no means of delivering them. By the time Obama left office, after having accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, North Korea had dozens of nuclear weapons and the ICBMs capable of threatening the U.S. mainland.
None of Trump’s critics today were demanding that Obama do something to stop North Korea during those long eight years. On this, like so many other things, Donald Trump is trying hard to clean up the mess his predecessor left behind.
Another Breakthrough
Trump’s historic DMZ meeting wasn’t the only possible breakthrough that occurred on this trip, while Democrats were debating the pros and cons of 1960s-era school busing.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Trump agreed to restart trade negotiations on a more serious basis. The president kept Huawei on the U.S. blacklist because of its heavy involvement with the Chinese military industrial complex. But he is relaxing restrictions on U.S. companies selling readily available commercial products to Huawei.
Huawei has already been hurt badly. Its CEO recently announced that Trump’s restrictions could cost his company as much as $30 billion.
Again, no one knows whether a satisfactory deal will be reached with China. But what the president has already accomplished is the creation of a bipartisan coalition in Washington that is now much more vocal about the threat China poses to the United States.
Even former Vice President Joe Biden, who recently said China was no threat, has had to reverse course. He now says China is "a real threat.”
Meanwhile, China’s problems continue to grow. Its economy is showing signs of significant weakness. Yesterday was the 22nd anniversary of the transfer of Hong Kong from Britain to China. There are always demonstrations on this anniversary. But yesterday there was significant violence as the crowd stormed the government headquarters.
Left-Wing Lunacy
The left-wing lunacy that was on full display during last week’s Democrat presidential debates continued over the weekend.
On ABC’s “This Week,” Julian Castro attempted to defend his radical position in favor of decriminalizing illegal entry into the United States. But George Stephanopoulos wasn’t having any of it and pressed Castro to explain why his extreme views did not amount to “open borders.”
When it comes to illegal immigration, the left has lost liberal columnist Andrew Sullivan, a legal immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen. In his latest column, Sullivan bemoans the left’s embrace of open borders, its lack of concern for wage suppression caused by mass migration and the cheapening of U.S. citizenship. He warns that the left’s radical open borders position amounts to “political suicide.”
As we noted last week, all the Democrat candidates in Thursday night’s debate endorsed the idea of providing taxpayer-subsidized healthcare to illegal immigrants. Most want to include coverage for abortion too. Not to be outdone, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to force you to pay for sex change surgeries too.
Left-wing Fascism
The left-wing fascists of Antifa rioted in Portland, Oregon, over the weekend. At least eight people, including three police officers, were injured in the melee. Reports indicate that the leftists were throwing “milkshakes” mixed with pepper spray and quick-drying cement at their opponents.
One of those injured was journalist Andy Ngo, who has courageously exposed Antifa’s fascist tactics.
There are also reports that people associated with Antifa are threatening to throw acid in the faces of free speech demonstrators over the July 4th holiday.
Senator Ted Cruz is calling on the FBI to investigate not only Antifa but also Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who once again ordered his law enforcement officers to stand down, or as Sen. Cruz put it, “let citizens be attacked by domestic terrorists.”