What did Trump do, other than hurl childish insults, and then use inappropriate diplomatic language in saying "the two sides had his
blessing..."
after they announced they would seek détente (They don't need his blessing, anymore than they need mine or yours. they are sovereign nations.) Perhaps Trump is being credited for keeping his mouth shut for a few days. Most likely the UN sanctions together with behind the scenes pressure from North Korea's most important trading partner and permanent member of the UN Security Council, China, provided the impetus to move things along. Trump will take credit of course, despite having seldom said a good word about the UN and having been, on the campaign trail, a steadfast enemy of the UN.
There have been a total of nine rounds of sanctions against North Korea instituted by members of the UN Security Council against North Korea since 2006. Three of those nine rounds, amounting to further tightening of sanctions, took place after Trump took office, one each in August, September and December of 2017. Trump, who has relied on bullying and childish antics, has been an unabashed critic of the United Nations and now, after the approach of the Security Council appears to have succeeded, he, in typical braggadocious fashion, will take credit for something he has been distinctly unhelpful in achieving. The South Koreans will speak kindly of Trump of course, and Trump will be only too happy to take advantage of their cultural disposition toward good manners. But let's not kid ourselves, Trump's referring to Kim Jong-un as "Rocket Man,"
has not been helpful. If Trump had his way there would be no United Nations.
Here from
Time Magazine (Sept. 2017) is a sample of Trump's waxing and waning opinions of the UN, tailored to his audience du jour:
He’s a ‘very big fan’ of the U.N.
Before he launched his political career, Trump testified in 2005 before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee to discuss the cost of renovating the U.N. headquarters in New York.
At the time, he said he was a “big fan” of the United Nations and said he had the Trump World Tower luxury apartment building constructed across the street from the U.N. because he liked it so much.
“I’m a big fan, a very big fan of the United Nations and all it stands for,” he said. “I can’t speak as to what’s been happening over the last number of years because it certainly hasn’t been good, but the concept of the United Nations and the fact that the United Nations is in New York is very important to me and very important to the world, as far as I am concerned.”
The U.N.’s marble tiles look ‘cheap’
In 2012, Trump took to Twitter to criticize an architectural detail of the United Nations interior, saying the 12-inch marble tiles look “cheap” and that he would replace them with larger marble slabs.
The U.N. is ‘not a friend of democracy’
During the 2016 presidential election, Trump spoke before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, arguing that the U.N. is “not a friend of democracy.” The comments came during the part of Trump’s speech that discussed the deal the Obama Administration made with Iran over its nuclear program. He shunned the U.N. at the time for “utter weakness and incompetence.”
“The United Nations is not a friend of democracy, it’s not a friend to freedom, it’s not a friend even to the United States of America where, as you know, it has its home. And it surely is not a friend to Israel … So with the president in his final year, discussions have been swirling about an attempt to bring a Security Council resolution on terms of an eventual agreement between Israel and Palestine. Let me be clear: An agreement imposed by the United Nations would be a total and complete disaster. The United States must oppose this resolution and use the power of our veto, which I will use as president 100 percent.”
The U.N. isn’t doing anything to end the big conflicts in the world, so you need an ambassador who would win by really shaking up the U.N.”
As president-elect, Trump promised in December of 2016 to shake up the U.N. saying ” things will be different after Jan. 20th” in a Dec. 23 tweet. His criticisms took on a harsher tone after the Obama Administration abstained from a U.N. Security Council vote on a resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank. On Dec. 26, Trump said the body “has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!”
And now that nine rounds of tough UN sanctions have apparently had their intended effect, Donald Trump will be only too happy to step in and take credit for bringing the two Koreas together. The man is truly disgusting.
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