President Trump: Please do us all a favor, chill
I regularly receive news updates on my iPhone via a CNN app, which for better or worse, keeps me in the loop with the news back home in the States. And whenever I see President Donald Trump’s name in the alert, my first reaction is: “What’s he gone and done now?
That’s the way it’s been since Jan. 20 when our Twitter-in-chief ascended to the highest office in the land and made us all appreciate the political art of reducing policy to finely crafted tweets. Whether you agree or disagree with the man (and these days, it’s more of the latter), he definitely has got our attention. Thanks to Twitter, we have a window to the inner workings of his mind. And yes, it is frightening at times. Covefe, anyone?
What’s been most frightening about the Trump administration for a lot of us expats in South Korea is his attempted takedown of Kim Jong-un. For those of you who have been keeping score at home, Trump’s in the lead with his verbal barbs and witticisms. After years of fine-tuning this skill with his reality TV show, he’s taken this to new heights or lows — depending on how you interpret it — with his verbal attacks against Kim. His blustering and ranting might win him points back home — you know, the old adage “if it plays well in Peoria” — but in Asia, specifically South Korea, he’s making a lot of people nervous.
His takedown of Kim at the U.N. was pure Trump, through and through. Against the advice of his aides, the president took off his gloves and came out swinging as he hurled a string of invectives against Kim, which were meant to rattle him on an international platform. Got to hand it to Trump, he runs the country like the boss of a chain gang. Not exactly what we have here is a failure to communicate, but you get the general idea. Apparently, he rattled a few other people, judging from their expressions and body language captured by photographers.
That U.N. show is what we have come to expect from the president. One day it’s the U.N.; the next day it’s a rally in Alabama. These venues allow him to rant and rave when he knows he has a captive audience. One thing about him, he pulls no punches and never lets us down. What was really funny, bizarre, and surreal was when Trump referred to Kim as the “Rocket Man” (not the first time, this term has been used; Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il was referred to as the Rocket Man in 2006) a few days before his speech at the U.N. This of course prompted Kim to come right back calling Trump a dotard and forcing people around the world to scramble to Google it to find out the meaning. You know, this name calling has to stop. It’s making us nervous. Trump needs to chill. Kick back with some wine and watch a movie. I recommend “Dr. Strangelove.”
What worries me most is that Trump has too much on his plate. He’s too easily distracted, and that is something we don’t want when he’s trying to deal with Kim. Recently, he’s been taking on the NFL and those athletes who take a knee during the playing of the national anthem (when he should have been focused on relief efforts to Puerto Rico). Granted this has been going on since last year, and for most fans, including myself, we support the rights of individuals who want to protest, but for Trump to weigh in on this, especially when he’s sending B-1B bombers dangerously close to North Korea, is probably not a good idea. I mean, if you’re trying to send a strong signal to the North that the U.S. will not back down from any threats, you don’t want to be distracted by these other issues which might cloud one’s reasoning if they get your blood boiling. That’s the problem here: he shouldn’t be preoccupied with these personal matters or making these issues personal as if he’s on some crusade when he’s running the country.
(And speaking of another show of force in the not-so friendly skies; someone needs to brief Trump on EC-121, the U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane that was shot down by a North Korean MiG in 1969. Granted that aircraft did not have the stealth capability that B-1B bombers have, but it was flying a little too close for comfort. This show of force might be good for stroking one’s ego and letting Kim know who’s the boss, but it’s a dangerous game of chicken that Trump is playing.)
In the meantime, we’re all just biding our time until the next news alert when we will learn what Trump’s gone and done now. So, as I said, could you just chill a little, Mr. President? Curb your ranting and raving. You’d make a lot of us here in South Korea less nervous.