Trumpian diplomacy

Some critics of Donald Trump fumed when he appeared to score a diplomatic coup in March and agreed to a meeting with Kim Jong-un. Now they are angry that he has pulled out of next month’s planned summit in Singapore. This is the Trump version of Brexit Derangement Syndrome: everything is seen through the prism of antitrump fury, distorting rational judgment. In fact, it would have been far odder if Mr Trump had gone through with the meeting without a quibble.

In the past few weeks, the North Koreans have made few verifiable concessions on their nuclear ambitions and indulged in aggressive rhetoric. If Mr Trump had flown to Singapore, it would have given Mr Kim the photo opportunity he craves, regularising a brutal regime that has threatened war. There is nothing wrong with talking to your enemy if it leads to concrete gains, but that process is always slow and convoluted. Ronald Reagan was in office for five years before he met the Soviet Union at Reykjavik, and even that summit, which began the end of the Cold War, was felt to have fallen short of a material breakthrough.

Diplomacy is inscrutable, even when Mr Trump, famous for speaking his mind, is performing it. The letter he sent to Mr Kim cancelling the meeting also thanked North Korea for releasing three US citizens, and the president has said talks might resume if changes are made. Behind the scenes, the White House is negotiating with the Chinese over trade, which also complicates matters. So the situation is not resolved but developing fast, and Mr Trump is applying pressure in the hope of getting more from his opponent. Everyone in the West should hope he succeeds, whether they supported his controversial election or not.