Free Republic

Every stakeholder has had something to say about Donald Trump’s decision to meet with Kim Jong-un — except for one in particular. The South Koreans announced the invitation from the North Korean leader; Trump and his administration made a public show of accepting it; even Russia and China have offered public encouragement. The American media talks continually about it, at least when they take a break from coverage of the more pressing and existential issue of Stormy Daniels.So who’s the party pooper? Despite rarely missing a chance to comment on events in the region, the Kim regime itself is...

Senior administration officials expressed confidence Sunday that President Trump would not be taken advantage of by North Korea's Kim Jong Un before and during any direct talks, but critics suggested the president's impulsiveness and inexperience could spell disaster if a meeting between the two leaders proceeds as planned. Trump would be the first sitting U.S. president to hold talks with a North Korean leader if he follows through on the decision Thursday to accept an invitation to meet with Kim. Amid rising tension over Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic programs, the two leaders had exchanged a series of threats and insults...

When it was first announced last Thursday that President Trump was to personally meet with North Korea Dictator Kim Jong-un for negotiations, the media’s response varied from optimistic to seething anger. But with some time, it appears as though their consensus is now to denounce the idea as was blatantly obvious on Sunday’s Meet the Press. The entire panel up in arms and fretting that Trump was either going to hand North Korea a victory or blow a gasket at the meeting and start a war. Moderator Chuck Todd, still bitter because Trump called him a “sleeping son of a...

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) Tired of all this Winning yet? – President Donald Trump (I never tire of typing those words) took the wonderful step on Friday of issuing a pardon to former Navy Submariner Kristian Saucier. Saucier was persecuted (and yes, I did mean to type that word, not “prosecuted”) by the Obama Justice Department in 2016 for having taking photos of a naval nuclear guidance system with his cell phone, ultimately being sentenced to serve a year in prison during the same time Obama’s DOJ was actively helping the Pantsuit Princess avoid any punishment...

This week, the President slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to enhance domestic steel production, to the dismay of liberal economists and journalists who don’t understand history and common sense. Here at this editorial we are unabashedly pro-tariff, not only because they work, but because without them we lose control of important aspects of our economy and of our society as a whole. Needless to say, we believe these steel tariffs is welcomed news. Aside from the tariffs though, President Trump has also now asked China to reduce their trade deficit with the United States by 100 billion dollars...

The hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" slammed President Trump over his potential meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "It's all bluster, there's no deal, because he doesn't know how to make a deal," co-host Joe Scarborough said Friday. "He's horrible at making deals. That's why the man ended up $9 billion in debt." "He can't even make a deal with a porn star," fellow co-host Mika Brzezinski replied, in reference to a nondisclosure agreement between Trump and adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. "He doesn't even sign the papers of the deal that he struck." "That's exactly right," Scarborough said....

If President Trump were to simultaneously find a cancer cure, and secure the agreement of Russia, China, and Iran to denuclearize and hold free and fair democratic elections, how would Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski handle the horrible news? We got a foreshadowing from today’s Morning Joe. Joe and Mika trashed the news that President Trump has accepted the invitation of Kim Jong-Un for talks. According to the pair, the announcement was nothing more than a “deflection” and a “distraction” from the Stormy Daniels story. Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

President Trump shocked the world Thursday night when it was announced that he planned to sit down with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in the coming months. The political world was so overwhelmed by the news that even the journalists at CNN were more or less optimistic. Yet over at MSNBC, host Rachel Maddow was anything but enthused by the idea as she spewed skepticism and threw shade at the commander-in-chief for excepting North Korea’s offer. Towards the beginning of her bitter rant, Maddow seemed to question the President’s intelligence and/or knowledge of history for taking the meeting: You might...

For the moment, at least, it appears to be a clear-cut victory — the biggest foreign policy win of his young administration. President Trump has brought his arch-nemesis, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a.k.a. “Little Rocket Man,” to the table to negotiate away his nuclear arsenal. Optimists declared a major breakthrough. Even pessimists acknowledged that Trump’s hard line against Pyongyang, after decades of less forceful U.S. effort, played a significant role in moving one of the world’s most vexing and threatening problems in a potentially positive direction. But in the afterglow of the surprise announcement — hinted by Trump...

President Donald Trump has agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by this May, South Korea's national adviser announced at the White House Thursday evening. He had briefed the president on a message from Kim earlier in the day. The South Korean envoy said that in his recent talks with Kim, the North Korean leader had expressed an eagerness to meet with Trump as soon as possible. He said that Kim had said he was committed to denuclearization, suspending more missile tests, and had agreed that U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises the North objects to must continue....

Then Graham added a “word of warning” for the leader of the nuclear-armed hermit kingdom. “The worst possible thing you can do is meet with President Trump in person and try to play him,” the senator said. “If you do that, it will be the end of you — and your regime.”

The statement tonight by South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong is so jaw-dropping in significance it has left the professional diplomatic apparatus stunned. A year of targeted and strategic geopolitical policy execution by President Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has resulted in North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accepting denuclearization and requesting a meeting with President Trump to achieve terms therein. The possibility of a willingly denuclearized Korean peninsular is such an astounding policy victory; it is difficult to conceptualize. Here’s the statement from South Korea’s Chung Eui-yong: “Good evening, today I had the...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said this week that a war with North Korea would be “worth it” in the long term. Graham made the comments in an interview with CNN. "All the damage that would come from a war would be worth it in terms of long-term stability and national security," the senator told CNN. Graham’s remark comes amid reports that the U.S. is prepared for the possibility of a military strike against North Korea.

A day of fast-moving developments. An announcement about North Korea expected within the hour.

I slapped the side of my TV to make sure it was tuned to the right channel. But yup, that was indeed CNN and Chris Cuomo, opening a discussion on the news that North Korea has indicated a willingness to discuss denuclearization, with praise for President Trump: “You have to say congratulations to the Trump administration. They were able to move the ball here.” And the rest of the panel — Alisyn Camerota, David Gregory, and Chris Cillizza — joined in acknowledging that this is a significant achievement for Trump. Get the rest of the story and view the video...

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met senior South Korean government officials for the first time and said it is his “firm will to vigorously advance” inter-Korean ties and pursue reunification, the North’s official news agency said on Tuesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets members of the special delegation of South Korea's President in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 6, 2018. A 10-member South Korean delegation led by National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong traveled to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, on Monday in hopes of encouraging...

My, but two hundred years pass by quickly. After Donald Trump announced a new round of sanctions on Friday morning at CPAC, North Korean state media declared that it might take two centuries until the Kim regime would be willing to talk with the US. Forty-eight hours later, South Korea president Moon Jae-in announced that Pyongyang wants to talk now — and Moon is pressing for a meeting ASAP: In a possible diplomatic breakthrough, North Korea says it is willing to hold talks with the U.S. The message came through South Korean President Moon Jae In, who also met...

(UPDATED) Pyongyang scrapped the planned talks during the 2018 Winter Olympics after the US vice president denounced abuses from the 'murderous regime,' US officials say

Washington’s decision to drop Victor Cha as its next US ambassador to South Korea was not due to his disagreement with the Trump administration’s consideration of a limited strike on North Korea, a diplomatic source said Friday. “As far as I know, the reason Victor Cha was withdrawn was not his differing views on North Korea policy,” the source said, asking to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter. “I believe there were many other factors. It is extremely difficult to give a detailed answer on what other factors were,” he said. He refused to discuss his source...

President Trump said Friday he is withdrawing former top adviser K.T. McFarland's nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Singapore, which ran aground over her involvement in the Russia investigation. Trump said he was "disappointed" and blamed Democrats for derailing her ambassadorial bid. "Unfortunately, some Democrats chose to play politics rather than move forward with a qualified nominee for a critically important post," he said in a statement. McFarland's nomination faced opposition from Republicans and Democrats over accusations she deceived the Senate about what she knew about former national security adviser Michael Flynn's talks with Russia. McFarland, who served as Flynn's...