On Sunday morning, President Trump rolled out of bed and embarked upon a retweeting spree, which included a GIF of him hitting #CrookedHillary with a golf ball. He also tapped out a few things about foreign policy, including this dubious entry about nuke-happy North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who he referred to as “Rocket Man.” In doing so, Trump relayed a conversation that he had with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, which involved “Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!”
I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2017
This bizarre “Rocket Man” thing is, of course, what Trump does. He deals with enemies by giving them nicknames on Twitter, like what he did shortly before defeating “Little Marco Rubio” and “Lyin’ Ted Cruz” during primary season.
Little Marco Rubio, the lightweight no show Senator from Florida, is set to be the "puppet" of the special interest Koch brothers. WATCH!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2016
Lyin' Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin' Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2016
Since Trump generally manages to vanquish (or fire) his foes — in his mind — partially because he gave them unflattering nicknames, he has taken this tactic into global policy. It’s unsettling, for Kim Jong-un is a madman. How will this end? Absolutely no one can make that call. On Friday, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said the “military option” is still on the table, and Kim Jong-un answered on Saturday by claiming that his regime has — both in nuclear and in general military force terms — almost equaled the U.S.:
“Our final goal is to establish the equilibrium of real force with the U.S. and make the U.S. rulers dare not talk about military option … The combat efficiency and reliability of Hwasong-12 were thoroughly verified. [Our goal of completing our nuclear force has] nearly reached the terminal.”
The North Korean leader’s statements arrived after his regime fired a missile toward Japan for the second time in a month (the first one flying over an island where the U.S. conducts military exercises). And Pyongyang threatened to literally sink Japan with a nuke while reducing the U.S. to “ashes and darkness,” so Trump’s back in action, possibly tweeting the U.S. into a war. Nope, nothing to worry about here, folks.
(Via Reuters)