On Friday, North Korea confirmed their fifth nuclear test — and their biggest one so far — after the resulting explosion triggered a 5.3 earthquake at a depth of zero. President Obama swiftly condemned the action, which was a clear and defiant violation of U.N. sanctions. Hillary Clinton later joined Obama in calling for additional, stronger sanctions against the nation. Clinton also labelled North Korea’s quest for a “deliverable nuclear weapon” as “a direct threat to the United States.”
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s campaign communications adviser, Jason Miller, released a statement, which attempts to place the blame upon Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state:
“North Korea’s fifth nuclear test, the fourth since Hillary Clinton became secretary of State, is yet one more example of Hillary Clinton’s catastrophic failures. Clinton promised to work to end North Korea’s nuclear program as secretary of State, yet the program has only grown in strength and sophistication.”
Naturally, Trump’s campaign grabbed at a kernel of truth — North Korea did accelerate their nuclear testing after 2008 — as the basis for blaming Clinton. However, the nation’s first such test happened in 2006 while George W. Bush was president, and the last two tests occurred after Clinton was no longer secretary of state. Not only that, but the early developments of North Korea’s nuclear program trace back to the 1950s.
It must be noted that Trump, who has relied on his “very good brain” for many of his foreign policy positions, reportedly (and repeatedly) asked one of his foreign policy advisers why we can’t use nukes if we have them. He also believes Japan and South Korea should develop their own nukes to protect themselves because then U.S. troops would no longer be needed there, and that saves money. He comes off as nuke happy and wants other countries to have nukes, yet his campaign wants to make the case that North Korea’s nukes … are somehow Clinton’s fault.
(Via LA Times, BBC, NTI.org, Associated Press & The Hill)
