Democrats who have experience dealing with North Korea in previous administrations are having a hard time with President Donald Trump’s summit success in Singapore.
It was, for example, Trump’s pressuring and charming of Kim Jong-un that got him to the Singapore summit to discuss denuclearization.
But for a former Clinton administration diplomat, it was still the North Korean leader who came out of the meeting looking like a winner.
“Yeah, it is a win for him, because he’s now a world player on the international stage,” former U.S. Ambassador and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson told CNN host Wolf Blitzer.
“He can go to his people, North Korea, even though he doesn’t have too many elections and say, look, I’m on par with the president of the United States,” he added. “And you know that the North Koreans have always said, look, let’s negotiate in Asia, U.S., and North Korea.”
Related: Here Are the Experts’ Must-Do’s for Denuclearizing Korea
Richardson has served in numerous high-profile positions, including chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention, congressman from New Mexico, and Democratic Governors Association, along with secretary of energy and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President Bill Clinton.
“We’re the big guys with nuclear weapons, not South Korea, not Japan, not China, even their main benefactor,” Richardson said. “So it’s already a win for Kim Jong-un, but if he tries to skate, it’s not going to be good for him.”
Similarly, Wendy Sherman, the Clinton administration’s policy coordinator for North Korea, showed little optimism over the summit. She worked on the Agreed Framework between the United States and North Korea from 1994, which ultimately failed because North Korea failed to fulfill its end of the bargain.
Sherman dismissed the Singapore summit, joking that the two leaders will become part of “The Celebrity Apprentice,” which Trump used to host before becoming president.
More than a few observers questioned whether it would really happen, with Trump himself even pulling out a couple of weeks prior to the summit.
“This just feels like a sitcom of some sort, as opposed to having the gravity that this is really about the security of the United States of America,” Sherman said on MSNBC. “The president’s obsession with looking strong and powerful and tough, which was what he thought he was doing at the G-7, making sure his base is secure, which he believes he does when he pushes back at even our friends and allies.”
The North Korean situation has taken several dramatic turns over the past year, starting with the veiled threat of nuclear war over the summer. More than a few observers questioned whether it would really happen, with Trump himself even pulling out a couple of weeks prior to the summit.
Related: Trump Withdraws from North Korea Summit
Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign of heavy sanctions and flexing U.S. military muscle is credited with bringing Kim to Singapore, but the president backed off from the term in recent weeks. The basic idea behind Trump’s strategy to achieve denuclearization is to demonstrate U.S. firmness and resolve in contrast to past vacillation and naïveté by American leaders.
Connor Wolf covers Congress and national politics and can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.
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