Trump needs to keep an action figure of General Mattis in his back pocket. When 'Lil Kim gets testy he just pulls it out and places it on the table. No "pew pew" sound effects required.

“Donald Trump is 'surprisingly' good at foreign policy, according to former Australian prime minister Paul Keating.

Mr Keating said the United States was directionless under the previous three administrations and Barack Obama blew an opportunity to reshape the world.

On Friday Mr Keating said he had not expected Mr Trump to have 'such a pragmatic' foreign policy on China and Russia, and he urged the president to continue down the path he was on.

His comments came as the US President accepted a dramatic offer from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to meet face-to-face. …”

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...-foreign-policy.html

I have to say I read this development with NK last night and it's pretty f'ing big news. I personally think Trump has some good bargaining chips right now. Timing is everything and he has the world worried what the US is going to do on several fronts. He now has a place of negotiation with China with these tariffs and IMHO could utilize that in an effort to pressure some real change with the Koreans. Shit, it's been almost 70 years. My best friend is half Korean and we've been talking about this all morning and we're both Gen Xers. I'm kind of stunned actually.

President Trump agrees to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong-un
Speaking just outside the White House’s West Wing last night, South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-Yong delivered news that President Donald J. Trump’s maximum pressure policy—together with international solidarity driven by American leadership—had brought the North Korea situation to an important juncture

“Today, I had the privilege of briefing President Trump on my recent visit to Pyongyang, North Korea,” Chung said. “In our meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is committed to denuclearization. Kim pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests. He understands that the routine joint military exercises between the Republic of Korea and the United States must continue.”

Kim also expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump “as soon as possible.” The President said he would meet Kim Jong-un by May to achieve permanent denuclearization.

“Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!,” President Trump tweeted last night.

Read the full statement by Chung about North Korea.https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-republic-korea-national-security-advisor-chung-eui-yong/?utm_source=ods&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1600d


Protecting American steel and aluminum
President Donald J. Trump is addressing unfair trade practices in the steel and aluminum industries by putting in place a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports.

“Economic vitality, growth, and prosperity at home is absolutely necessary for American power and influence abroad,” the President says. “A Nation that does not protect prosperity at home cannot protect its interests abroad.”

A few key details about these Proclamations:

Tariffs on steel and aluminum are anticipated to reduce imports to levels needed for these American industries to achieve long-term viability.
The strengthening of the U.S. domestic steel and aluminum industries will reduce our reliance on foreign producers.
President Trump is welcoming any country with which we have a security relationship to discuss alternative ways to address these concerns.
Learn more about how President Trump is addressing unfair trade practices.

Go deeper: The President will protect national security from the effects of unfair trade.


Closing the ‘digital gender gap’
The revolution in information technology over the past few decades has often been called a “great equalizer.” Yet just as the impact from digital technology is accelerating, far too many women are being left behind. According to USAID, more than a billion and a half women in low- and middle-income countries today still do not own mobile phones.

Yesterday, as the world recognized International Women’s Day, Ivanka Trump joined with USAID Administrator Mark Green to launch USAID’s next women’s empowerment initiative, the WomenConnect Challenge. The initiative is a global call for solutions designed to close the gender digital divide, with USAID identifying and testing promising pilot approaches.

“Through closing the digital gender gap, women can help pull their families out of extreme poverty and serve as active participants and leaders in their societies,” USAID says.

Learn more about the WomenConnect Challenge and the Trump Administration’s work to empower women.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

President Donald J. Trump signs the Section 232 Proclamations on Steel and Aluminum Imports | March 8, 2018 (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

POTUS TODAY
This morning, President Trump will receive his daily intelligence briefing. In the afternoon, Vice President Mike Pence will deliver keynote remarks at an America First Policies “Tax Cuts to Put America First” event.

If Trump manages to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, a Nobel Prize would be an insult.

It has been a festering serious wound for essentially my entire lifetime, so bitter and intense that there have been no meetings in the building built for the purpose, down to a line down the table, in decades.

Presidents in that time have accepted the advice of experts to form policy, now known as strategic patience, aka can kicking, while the NoKos have been whittling away. Trump has gone against that advice. What do ya know?

Amazing.

quote:

the US President accepted a dramatic offer from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to meet face-to-face. …”

President Trump even forcing CNN to take notice.

CNN's Erin Burnett: If Trump solves the North Korea problem he "would be going down as a great president, and there's no way around that."

But CNN is CNN, so they have a bunch of ex-Obama types like this:

Samantha Vinograd (former senior advisor to Obama National Security Advisor Donilon):

"There is no way that President Trump can be ready, by May, to have a high stakes negotiation on denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, it's just impossible. ... You can't wing it."

Vinograd says it would take months to prepare Obama for the most basic meetings.

Well Samantha, we ain't in Kansas anymore

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
CNN's Erin Burnett: If Trump solves the North Korea problem he "would be going down as a great president, and there's no way around that."

"no way around that"?

quote:

Vinograd says it would take months to prepare Obama for the most basic meetings.

Have you ever tried to find a highchair and bib that have the Presidential Seal on them? Try! Just try!! These things must be considered quite carefully, you see!!

So showing you have a spine and some testosterone makes bullies and loud mouths recalculate their behavior? Hmmm...who knew?

I wonder if President Trump pulled one of Gen Mattis' favorite tricks?

https://www.reuters.com/articl...-korea-idUSKCN1GG06B

From 4 Mar 2018

In the midst of a joke-filled monologue at a dinner with journalists, President Donald Trump suggested on Saturday that the United States will be meeting with North Korea but has told Pyongyang it must first “denuke.”

“Now we are talking and they, by the way, called up a couple of days ago. They said that ‘we would like to talk.’ And I said ‘So would we, but you have to denuke, you have to denuke,’” Trump told attendees at the annual Gridiron Club dinner.

“We will be meeting and we’ll see if anything positive happens,” he added.

On Sunday, a senior U.S. administration official said Trump did not hear directly from North Korea that the country would like to start talks. The information was relayed to the administration by South Korea, the official said.

“I won’t rule out direct talks with Kim Jong Un. I just won’t,” Trump said on Saturday, referring to North Korea’s leader.

and then this

“As far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned, that’s his problem, not mine,” Trump said

And once again, on multiple levels, Trump proves the effectiveness of the Art of the Deal and that politics, like many other things, is in fact chess and not checkers.

Shocking how quickly someone who has actually had a high stakes meeting before can prepare for the next one....not. This is why you don't hire career politicians and lifelong academics to be the most powerful leader on the planet. When all you have experience in is organizing the community , indoctrination of children, race baiting and getting elected via affirmative action you are left with very few tools to handle real business on behalf of the country. Maybe a few people will get it after a few more years of the US kicking ass and taking names again.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TXJIM,

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

quote:

Vinograd says it would take months to prepare Obama for the most basic meetings.

Have you ever tried to find a highchair and bib that have the Presidential Seal on them? Try! Just try!! These things must be considered quite carefully, you see!!

^^^ HA! Underrated joke of the week!

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
Maybe a few people will get it after a few more years of the US kicking ass and taking names again.

You could kick fuck most people with the truth and they still wouldn’t get it.

Crowder fans will appreciate this:

The next question is where to meet? Seoul? China? Panmunjom? The location is important as the NK's pace a lady t on symbols. When the Korean War peace talks begin, the NK demanded the UN arrive with white flags flying and were greated with proganda music. Remember the Vietnam War talks that stalled on the shape of the table?
In now way can the President no appear subservient to Kim.

Mar a Lago

Detroit

quote:

Originally posted by Icabod:
The next question is where to meet? Seoul? China? Panmunjom? The location is important as the NK's pace a lady t on symbols. When the Korean War peace talks begin, the NK demanded the UN arrive with white flags flying and were greated with proganda music. Remember the Vietnam War talks that stalled on the shape of the table?
In now way can the President no appear subservient to Kim.

Well on the moon of course.

https://spacekim.io/

Assuming Trump is able to broker some kind of deal to de-nuke NK, I trust him to make sure the deal has meaning.

Trump knows not to trust Rocket Man.

It would be a great thing if Trump could also find a way to help the people of NK.
That might be too much to hope for.
Not sure that's possible with Rocket man in charge of things.