Tuesday, March 05, 2019

Let's Talk Some Politics

"North Korea will freeze and dismantle its nuclear program." - Bill Clinton 1994

"I won't rule out direct talks with Kim Jung Un. I just won't. As far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned, that's his problem, not mine." - Donald Trump 2018

ABC News has a brief on the US-North Korean summit in Vietnam. Michael Cohen is mentioned five times in an article about potential historic denuclearization talks. But there was one word glaringly missing in the article - the word China.

The editors at National Review are glad President Trump walked away from what would have been yet another bad deal for the US. But again there was one word glaringly missing in their article - the word China.

To Trump the North Korean Agreement is just part of a larger trade Agreement with China. It is no coincidence that the summit in Vietnam came at the same time the US and China were holding trade negotiations.

I have to hand it to Niall Ferguson - he called it last March. He pointed out China tariffs are directly linked to the negotiations with North Korea. And why not? North Korea to the US is a problem. To China it's a market potentially as large as South Korea. President Trump is directly pressuring China to help "solve" the North Korean problem as part of the larger US-China trade deal. Smart.

Oh and speaking of trade - Boeing secured $15.7 billion in Vietnam orders during Trump's visit to Hanoi. Did you happen to catch mention of that in the MSM?

Let me finish with one last quote. A quote that you should remind yourself of when talking politics these days: "All empty souls tend toward extreme opinions." - William Butler Yeats

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