Trump’s Withdrawal From North Korea Nuke Summit Divides Pundits: ‘Pure Trump’

Political commentators went full throttle on Thursday in light of President Trump‘s decision to cancel a planned summit with Kim Jong Un — the president’s supporters hailed his bold withdrawal from the summit, and his detractors mocked what they say as a capitulation to the North Korean regime.

“Nobel” even trended on the platform, as pundits pointed out that this greatly imperils Trump’s shot at the Peace prize.

North Korea had threatened to reject the summit in recent days while saying that their nuclear weapons are non-negotiable for any diplomatic event. Even so, the development will undoubtedly have a colossal impact on international politics and diplomacy, and threatens to move the U.S. and North Korea back to the brink of a nuclear showdown.

So what is it? Genius negotiating maneuver or an inevitable caving to North Korea’s hardened stance on the talks, which were never going to happen in the first place? Here are the tweets, you decide:

Beyond the very serious geopolitical stakes, this move is pure Trump. A theatrical withdrawal from a potential “deal,” and reminder to Americans that he milked his adversary and gave them nothing in return… https://t.co/rl6JOVkkxo

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) May 24, 2018

This is … not accurate https://t.co/yKpwoFhMpB

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) May 24, 2018

.@realDonaldTrump held out America’s hand to shake… Kim spit into his palm.
God bless your fate North Korea.
The poor, misguided and fearful people of North Korea will need His grace very soon.#RemoveKim

— Eric Bolling (@ericbolling) May 24, 2018

The North Koreans are overplaying their hand. The Punggye-ri test site was likely rendered unusable by the last nuclear blast there in September 2017. @POTUS and @SecPompeo are in full control of this negotiation. #PeaceThroughStrength #ArtOfTheDeal https://t.co/HRne6W2yXJ

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) May 24, 2018

I don’t read the cancellation of the NK summit as the end of talks. It’s really part of the ongoing talks. It’s about maneuvering, lack of predictability and leverage. Considering how often NK has played us in the past, I welcome this development.

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) May 24, 2018

Very interesting letter from @realDonaldTrump to Kim Jong Un. Flatters him and thanks him – at the same time reminding Kim that the US can level his country if he plays fast and loose with nukes.

— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) May 24, 2018

Three weeks ago, 18 House Republicans signed a letter nominating Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize over his efforts to bring peace to the Koreas.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯https://t.co/uXD27eIipD

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) May 24, 2018

18 Republican Congressmen sent a letter to Norway, nominating @realDonaldTrump for the Nobel Peace Prize. This might hurt his chances a tad. https://t.co/e4aNZ9h6eM

— Bill Weir (@BillWeirCNN) May 24, 2018

Give him the Nobel Participation Prize.https://t.co/thd8kKxcJs

— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) May 24, 2018

Others wondered what will happen to those commemorative coins that were made to mark the summit:

fake news pic.twitter.com/da2yz3zvg2

— J.D. Durkin (@jiveDurkey) May 24, 2018

But the coins! Why won’t anyone think of the coins?? https://t.co/oBAqrXXFHi

— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) May 24, 2018

“And if you call in the next 5 minutes, for every purchase of the Trump-Kim commemorative coin, you, will get another 99 free” pic.twitter.com/650T78VbMt

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 24, 2018

And then there’s the more general mockery, commentary, fears, etc.

Looks like Kim Jong Un missed his chance to be shown the 2016 election map and hear about how kneeling NFL players are “very unfair to me”

— Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) May 24, 2018

“If you fuck with me, I will murder everyone in your country and make soup from the bones of your children.

That said, please call if you still want to meet.”

— Ben (@BenHowe) May 24, 2018

“Hit me back,
just to chat.
Truly yours,
your biggest fan,
this is Stan.” https://t.co/szRLKN5UmA

— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) May 24, 2018

TRUMP TO KIM: IT’S NOT ME, IT’S YOU

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) May 24, 2018

This is very disappointing….so now what? pic.twitter.com/uuupYouC1d

— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) May 24, 2018

It is, however, the precise opposite of accurate.

Kim looks much stronger today than he did a month ago. Trump looks weaker. https://t.co/cpqMoaGS57

— Adam Davidson (@adamdavidson) May 24, 2018

It’s all good and fun to mock those who were already bestowing the Nobel to Trump. But we also just took a major step closer to a nuclear conflict.

— Sam Stein (@samstein) May 24, 2018

Noted Malodorous Lackwit Donald Trump cancels planned summit with DPRK.
Currently 0-2 in making Nuclear Deals for so-called “winning” culture. pic.twitter.com/AuLiO5ffo3

— DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) May 24, 2018

For those unaware, that last tweet is not an actual North Korean statement. DPRK News Service is a purely-satirical Twitter account.

[Photo via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

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