Trump Is Getting Played By North Korea. Again.
Trump is not capable of fully understanding, or responding to, any threats from North Korea.
It was reported late Friday EST (early Saturday, North Korea time), that North Korea had fired "several short-range projectiles". The New York Times reports that North Korea "fired the projectiles between 9:06 a.m. and 9:27 a.m. from near Wonsan, a coastal town east of Pyongyang" and that they "flew 70 to 200 kilometers before landing in the sea between North Korea and Japan."
Sarah Slanders said the White House will "monitor" the situation, but it is unclear if we can trust her since she admitted she is a liar.
If true, this would be the first missile test since 2017. Does this mean the love affair between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un is over? Or is this just the final break after February's disastrous meeting in Vietnam where discussions of nuclear dismantlement failed in typical Trump fashion?
Frank Figliuzzi, NBC National Security Contributor and Former Assistant Director of Counterintelligence to the FBI joined MSNBC on Saturday to discuss these latest developments, and he didn't hold back:
FRANK FIGLIUZZI: So I believe he's over his head when he's negotiating with these world leaders and I think clearly that Putin has an advantage over him in controlling the geopolitical scene. So if he believes Putin over our intelligence community on one thing, then he's likely to believe Putin over our intelligence community on other things like the degree to which North Korea is still progressing in their missile and nuclear program. So in the face of reality we have a president who wants to perpetuate the appearance of winning. He has to win even as we watch missiles being launched by an adversary he said is no longer doing such a thing. Putin is a former KGB officer and highly trained in deception and manipulation. He's got Trump right where he wants him with regard to North Korea and other situations, and Trump is just being duped almost on a daily basis.
Let's see what happens next. Trump's tweets about it have seemed fairly unconcerned - almost like he thinks it's adorable that Jong-un is trying to get his attention, but that there's not much to see here.
His pal in the Senate isn't so sure...
And a truth-teller in the House is still fighting the good fight.
It's almost like Trump has a tenuous hold on reality.