Presidential historian Michael Beschloss called the planned meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un a “dream come true” for the North Korean dictator.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Beschloss said a summit with the leader of the United States – all of it in front of cameras, no doubt – would give Kim Jong Un the legitimacy he has always wanted.
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Beschloss said:
For Kim, the leader of North Korea, this is a dream come true. He’s got a summit. He’s wanted that for decades – he and his family, his ancestors who had this job, too. He’s going to be dealing with a neophyte president who will only have a few weeks to prepare and a president who needs some good publicity. Donald Trump has got low poll ratings, he’s got a congressional election coming up, Mueller is closing in, even Stormy Daniels. This is someone who may try too hard to have a bargain with Kim that’s going to get him some good publicity and that’s not a good situation for a president to be in if he’s trying to drive a hard bargain.
There is no question that the news that Trump has agreed to meet with Kim Jong Un is stunning. So stunning, in fact, that not even his own State Department and White House staff saw it coming.
The Trump administration is already taking credit for the development, even though South Korean diplomacy was central to bringing North Korea to the negotiating table. Still, all of it should be viewed with caution.
As Rachel Maddow noted on Thursday, there is a reason no other president has agreed to the same risky meeting, especially with just weeks to prepare for it. Trump apparently didn’t factor that into his thought process when he rushed to accept the offer put forward by the North Korean leader.
That’s because, like Kim Jong Un, Trump is on a crusade for his own legitimacy. As Beschloss told Maddow, his polls are in the tank and Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation continues to hang over his presidency like a storm cloud.
Donald Trump’s hasty decision to jump into a high-stakes, nuclear summit with North Korea was more about changing the subject and distracting from his dumpster fire presidency than anything else.
When all is said and done, it’s highly likely that this meeting is nothing but an attempt by two small leaders to gain legitimacy via photo op.
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