# North Korea suspending missile testing and closing nuclear site; Trump the statesman? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 20, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829 "2018-04-20T23:09:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/381 "2018-05-24T22:59:06Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > I’m sure someone now realizes they could have an entire set of failed outcome coins - Repealed Obamacare - Mighty Muslim Ban - Built the Wall - and his idiot fans would buy them all. Profit! You’ve got it arse about. Were such a set available as a furriner I’d buy one as a hoot and emblematic They’d sell them out to DEMs who’d put them on a rope and jangle them at every TRUMP event until he left office, though on current form that might not be until January 20, 2025. By that stage you’d probably need a forklift to move whole bunch. MAGA. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/382 "2018-05-24T23:08:05Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > That’s because Trump [personally dictated every word of the letter.](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/389269-trump-dictated-every-word-of-letter-canceling-north-korea-summit) I thought that was the case as I read the first paragraph. It’s got that home spun, plain spoken, sewer rat with a gold tooth vibe to it. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/383 "2018-05-24T23:45:53Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > You know how dumb people, when talking to somebody who speaks English as a second language, will drift into fractured language or an accent, in some weird way to try to help the discussion along? I’ve seen Trump do it when he over-exaggerates the names of places (like Puerto Rico). > > This letter reads like it is a bad translation. It’s almost like they took a letter, had google translate it into Korean, and then back into English. So weird. That last paragraph was my thoughts as well… “Did they try to write this in ‘translated Korean’? Is that even a thing?” ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/384 "2018-05-24T23:55:51Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I have no idea how this sort of thing works, but I would think that communications with foreign governments would be written by someone familiar with the language, politics and culture of those countries. Those taking dictation clearly thought it was a series of tweets meant to sound [Trump-like.](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house-staffers-purposely-use-poor-grammar-when-writing-trump-tweets) > [@](#): > > - That sounds like a note Trump would write to a girl that stood him up on a junior high date.\* [Should we be glad that he isn’t or afraid he’ll continue in that vein?](http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-texas-shooter-20180519-story.html) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/385 "2018-05-24T23:58:03Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Doesn’t that just perfectly encapsulate the entire problem with Trump Supporters? Oh, I dunno. One of those could be the foundation piece of a collection commemorating failures of one sort or another. One of those coins, representing the wholly expected failure of Trump’s administration to get anything right. A piece of V2 rocket signed by Werner von Braun, representing Hitler’s failure to bomb England into submission. A piece of the Titanic’s funnel … the possibilities are endless. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/386 "2018-05-25T00:05:49Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Gabriel Garcia Marquez didn’t exactly write fantasy, but books like _100 Years of Solitude_ were somewhat surreal. Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, **tim314** thought, “Well, it still beats the Trump years.” ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/387 "2018-05-25T00:07:08Z")
Because there really IS a Shakespeare quote for every possible occasion: “This letter, being so excellently ignorant, will breed no terror in the youth: he will find it comes from a clodpole.” – _Twelfth Night_ ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/388 "2018-05-25T00:49:36Z")
He’s going to get a Nobel Prize, but it’s going to be another Nobel Fuck You Prize, like the one they gave to George W. Bush in 2009. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/389 "2018-05-25T00:52:40Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Because there really IS a Shakespeare quote for every possible occasion: > > “This letter, being so excellently ignorant, will breed no terror in the youth: he will find it comes from a clodpole.” – _Twelfth Night_ G-d bless you, Sir! ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/390 "2018-05-25T01:29:15Z")
Kim wins this round, again - > **[North Korea: willing to meet Trump despite canceled summit | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/24/asia/north-korea-donald-trump-summit-intl/index.html)** > > North Korea says Kim Jong Un is still willing to meet Donald Trump “at any time,” despite the US President’s abrupt cancellation of what would have been a historic summit between the two leaders, scheduled for June 12. > [@](#): > > We reiterate to the US that we are willing to sit face to face at any time and in any way," said Kim, who has negotiated with US counterparts for years. > “I would like to conclude that President Trump’s statement on the North Korea-US summit is a decision that is not in line with the wishes of the who hope for the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula as well as the world.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/391 "2018-05-25T01:45:45Z")
Heh. Maybe Trump in his retirement years can become a copywriter for a few Nigerian Princes that are down on their luck… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/392 "2018-05-25T01:57:50Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > One of those could be the foundation piece of a collection commemorating failures of one sort or another. [Your starter coin.](https://intagliomint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/50mm-Trump-Inauguration-Copper-Medal-Obverse-Reverse-300x147.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/393 "2018-05-25T02:03:15Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [Your starter coin.](https://intagliomint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/50mm-Trump-Inauguration-Copper-Medal-Obverse-Reverse-300x147.jpg) Tails represents a Rhode Island Red hen? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/394 "2018-05-25T02:31:56Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Light emitting diodes are smarter. Brighter too. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/395 "2018-05-25T07:27:27Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > That’s because Trump [personally dictated every word of the letter.](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/389269-trump-dictated-every-word-of-letter-canceling-north-korea-summit) Well, of course he did. This was the best cancellation, the greatest, bigliest cancellation in the history of meetings, with the best ratings ever, and he did it ALL BY HIMSELF JUST LIKE A BIG BOY. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/396 "2018-05-25T11:52:18Z")
I sincerely hope that Trump continues to convince himself that he’s ‘winning bigly’ with Kim and North Korea. Because it dawns on him that Kim is playing him like a fiddle, and if he feels humiliated or embarrassed, all hell could break loose. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/397 "2018-05-25T12:36:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Obama won one for…what was it for? Not being Bush. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I have no idea how this sort of thing works, but I would think that communications with foreign governments would be written by someone familiar with the language, politics and culture of those countries. Or indeed of his own country. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/398 "2018-05-25T12:56:50Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Having lived through the presidencies of Nixon, Reagan, and Shrubby, whatever their manifold failings were, they had _mostly_ competent people around them. Their Administrations had particular (and often fairly sizable) areas of incompetence and/or malevolence, but for the most part, their people kept the government and the country running down normal channels. > > With Trump, pretty much _everyone_ in a position of authority is incompetent, malevolent, or both. (Trump himself is both, of course.) This entire Administration is off the rails in ways far beyond what anybody alive has previously experienced in this country. I’ve said it before and will again; whatever you think of past Presidents, they all wanted to be good Presidents. Carter or Reagan, Clinton or Bush; to a man, every one of them wanted to improve America. So of course they tried to hire competent people. Trump doesn’t give a shit if the USA is better or worse off; he sees his job as enriching himself. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/399 "2018-05-25T13:11:18Z")
In recent decades, yes, but we’ve had some pretty thoroughly venal Presidents and administrations in the past. But none come to mind who combined that with an active desire to undo any successes of his predecessor. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829/400 "2018-05-25T17:09:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’ve said it before and will again; whatever you think of past Presidents, they all wanted to be good Presidents. Carter or Reagan, Clinton or Bush; to a man, every one of them wanted to improve America. So of course they tried to hire competent people. > > Trump doesn’t give a shit if the USA is better or worse off; he sees his job as enriching himself. This post is the alpha and the omega in explaining Trump. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-suspending-missile-testing-and-closing-nuclear-site-trump-the-statesman/812829.md?page=21)