Wingnut Wrapup- Great Negotiator Edition
I don't really do much in the way of wingnut wrapups any more, but I thought it would be fun, on the very day of the collapse in utter humiliation of the Great Negotiator's greatest negotiation, to see right wingers scrambling to explain away his failure. I am sure they will come up with even more imaginative (and piggish) excuses in the coming days, but here are their initial attempts:
Epic. An epic whine. The letter itself is a laughable piece of self-justifying belligerence from a guy who totally misplayed his negotiation and got taken by a 31 year old dufus. But to right wingers, it's EPIC!
Hey, congrats to Matt, who managed to turn Trump's latest self-induced humiliation into an excuse to mention Nancy Pelosi, at which point every good Conservative puffed themselves up in outrage and totally ignored the substance of the story. Good play there, Matt! And this seems to be developing into a popular right wing line:
Well, now the whole story is not about the colossal negotiating failure of the "greatest negotiator on earth," it's about Nancy Pelosi being crazy.
Rocket man's tantrum! Standing by the position he has had all along, and objecting to being threatened with annihilation by deranged warmonger John Bolton and Christian lunatic Mike Pence- that's a tantrum. Trump stomping out like a jilted boyfriend, well, that's Presidential.
The North's "definition of denuclearization;" i.e. Trump and Bolton's definition of denuclearization, which consisted in "you give up everything, we give up nothing," which anyone who has followed this story or has a shred of sense knew was never on the table at all.
And here comes the rewriting of history to lie away the obvious truth that Trump got totally conned by Kim, who got the recognition as an equal from Trump that he wanted without having to give up a thing.
Something that North Korea has made clear from the beginning was never on the table. But that is what Trump promised his base, so he had to tank the talks rather than fail to deliver.
I.e. if Kim didn't give Trump what he wanted, Trump would have him killed. Great international diplomacy there. I wonder why Kim didn't go along with that.
A wonderful dialogue, including, as I mentioned above, Trump's threats to kill Kim if he didn't give Trump what he wanted. "Negotiation," New York mob style.
Another classic bully strategy: run and hide behind mommy and yell taunts at the guy who totally beat you down. And let's just be clear about this: Any conciliatory gesture is interpreted as weakness by Trump, who knows nothing but bullying and petty meanness, so he is going to tell his equally malign followers that he won a great victory when actually he was humiliated by the juvenile leader of an impoverished country less than a tenth the size of the United States. And in the process he humiliated our whole country- something which will be totally missed by the kind of jerks that think it makes them tough to wander around the streets with an assault rifle on their backs.
And now the inevitable "black is white... who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes" approach to the subject:
He knows how to make a deal? Not making a deal proves he knows how to make a deal? Running for cover shows strength? And yet, you know that his base will absolutely swallow the entire notion that this colossal failure was a success, and that somehow getting snookered by Kim Jong Un, of all people, proves he is a great negotiator. God help us.
That would be when Kim called Mike Pence a "political dummy." No word from Trump about whether any anger and hostility was displayed by Mike Pence when he threatened to have Kim murdered if he didn't go along with what Trump wanted.
How about the choice of acting like an adult and stopping his vice President from making mindless threats against foreign leaders?
Is Dershowitz suggesting that maybe it would be a good idea for North Korea to do that? I mean, what exactly is he saying here?
And of course, how could they miss this take on the whole thing:
That's the answer- just follow orders and forget that the whole gigantic disaster ever happened.
And I am sure it is, just as soon as Kim Jong Un figures out a new way to humiliate Trump, something he seems to be rather good at. Stay tuned.
Katie Pavlich, Town Hall: "BREAKING: Trump Writes Kim Jong Un Epic Letter Cancelling Upcoming Summit"
Epic. An epic whine. The letter itself is a laughable piece of self-justifying belligerence from a guy who totally misplayed his negotiation and got taken by a 31 year old dufus. But to right wingers, it's EPIC!
Matt Vespa, Town Hall: "Eyeroll: Nancy Pelosi Says Trump's Letter To N. Korea Probably Gave Kim Jong-un A 'Giggle Fit'
Hey, congrats to Matt, who managed to turn Trump's latest self-induced humiliation into an excuse to mention Nancy Pelosi, at which point every good Conservative puffed themselves up in outrage and totally ignored the substance of the story. Good play there, Matt! And this seems to be developing into a popular right wing line:
Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit: "Crazy Nancy Pelosi: Kim Jong Un Had a “Giggle Fit” When Trump Called Off Summit"
Well, now the whole story is not about the colossal negotiating failure of the "greatest negotiator on earth," it's about Nancy Pelosi being crazy.
Jennifer Van Laar, Red State: "Early Thursday, after the Rocket Man’s latest temper tantrum, the White House announced that the planned June summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was off."
Rocket man's tantrum! Standing by the position he has had all along, and objecting to being threatened with annihilation by deranged warmonger John Bolton and Christian lunatic Mike Pence- that's a tantrum. Trump stomping out like a jilted boyfriend, well, that's Presidential.
Streiff, Red State: "President Trump has pulled the plug on the planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that had been scheduled for June 12 in Singapore. This is how this came to be. It was apparent to everyone watching that North Korea’s definition of denuclearization did not extend to an independently verifiable eradication of North Korea’s nuclear weapons stockpile and its ability to make future weapons."
The North's "definition of denuclearization;" i.e. Trump and Bolton's definition of denuclearization, which consisted in "you give up everything, we give up nothing," which anyone who has followed this story or has a shred of sense knew was never on the table at all.
"And during his meeting with South Korea’s President Moon, President Trump said he didn’t know if the summit would happen. Probably both sides were concerned that neither would have anything to bring home."
And here comes the rewriting of history to lie away the obvious truth that Trump got totally conned by Kim, who got the recognition as an equal from Trump that he wanted without having to give up a thing.
The points (Mike Pence) made were that North Korea had to give up nuclear weapons, that there would be no let up in sanctions before the US had seen concrete evidence of denuclearization...
Something that North Korea has made clear from the beginning was never on the table. But that is what Trump promised his base, so he had to tank the talks rather than fail to deliver.
"And...he warned North Korea to not try “to play” Trump and that the Muammar Qaddafi solution was always available if he didn’t denuclearize."
I.e. if Kim didn't give Trump what he wanted, Trump would have him killed. Great international diplomacy there. I wonder why Kim didn't go along with that.
Bridget Johnson, PJ Media: "Trump Tells 'Mr. Chairman' in 'Truly Sad Moment' That North Korea Summit Is Off..."I felt like a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me... some day, I look very much forward to meeting you," president writes."
A wonderful dialogue, including, as I mentioned above, Trump's threats to kill Kim if he didn't give Trump what he wanted. "Negotiation," New York mob style.
Charlie Spierling, Breitbart: "TRUMP CANCELS NKOREA SUMMIT: TELLS LI’L KIM: THANKS FOR THE HOSTAGES! BE NICE AND ASK ME FOR ANOTHER CHANCE…"
Another classic bully strategy: run and hide behind mommy and yell taunts at the guy who totally beat you down. And let's just be clear about this: Any conciliatory gesture is interpreted as weakness by Trump, who knows nothing but bullying and petty meanness, so he is going to tell his equally malign followers that he won a great victory when actually he was humiliated by the juvenile leader of an impoverished country less than a tenth the size of the United States. And in the process he humiliated our whole country- something which will be totally missed by the kind of jerks that think it makes them tough to wander around the streets with an assault rifle on their backs.
And now the inevitable "black is white... who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes" approach to the subject:
Sandy Fitzgerald, Newsmax: "Dershowitz: NKorea Decision Bolsters Trump's Deal-Making Bonafides...President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was one that plays into his "strong suite," Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Thursday. "He knows how to make a deal."
He knows how to make a deal? Not making a deal proves he knows how to make a deal? Running for cover shows strength? And yet, you know that his base will absolutely swallow the entire notion that this colossal failure was a success, and that somehow getting snookered by Kim Jong Un, of all people, proves he is a great negotiator. God help us.
"In his letter to Kim, Trump said he was pulling from the summit "based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement."
That would be when Kim called Mike Pence a "political dummy." No word from Trump about whether any anger and hostility was displayed by Mike Pence when he threatened to have Kim murdered if he didn't go along with what Trump wanted.
"I think once he heard what the leader of North Korea said about the United States, said about our vice president, he had no choice but to walk away"
How about the choice of acting like an adult and stopping his vice President from making mindless threats against foreign leaders?
"(Dershowitz) also pointed out that North Korea has not yet shown the world that it can send a missile to the shores of the United States."
Is Dershowitz suggesting that maybe it would be a good idea for North Korea to do that? I mean, what exactly is he saying here?
And of course, how could they miss this take on the whole thing:
David French, National Review Online: "Good Riddance to the North Korea Summit"
That's the answer- just follow orders and forget that the whole gigantic disaster ever happened.
Newsmax: "Pompeo: Next Move Up to NKorea"
And I am sure it is, just as soon as Kim Jong Un figures out a new way to humiliate Trump, something he seems to be rather good at. Stay tuned.
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