Trump’s tweet lifting just-announced North Korea sanctions spawns confusion
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump overruled his administration’s new round of sanctions aimed at forcing North Korea to end its nuclear program, surprising his staff and confusing the public with a tweet Friday afternoon.
“It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea,” Trump wrote soon after arriving for the weekend at his Mar-alago retreat in Palm Beach, Fla. “I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!”
The president appeared to be referring to a pair of sanctions that his Treasury secretary announced Thursday against two Chinese shipping companies accused of helping North Korea evade sanctions. Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin issued a strong statement in Thursday’s announcement, taking a hard line against North Korea that was greatly at odds with Trump’s retreat and his spokeswoman’s subsequent explanation.
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dashed off a statement that did little to explain what was behind Trump’s tweet. She reaffirmed Trump’s personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with whom he has had two summits that failed to yield a deal on nuclear disarmament.
“President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary,” she said.
Mnuchin, in his statement a day earlier, said, “The United States and our like-minded partners remain committed to achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea and believe that the full implementation of North Korea-related U.N. Security Council resolutions is crucial to a successful outcome.”
He added, “Treasury will continue to enforce our sanctions, and we are making it explicitly clear that shipping companies employing deceptive tactics to mask illicit trade with North Korea expose themselves to great risk.”
National security adviser John Bolton had also tried to underscore the tough stance against North Korea signified by Thursday’s sanctions move, tweeting after they were announced that they were “important actions.”
“The maritime industry must do more to stop North Korea’s illicit shipping practices,” he wrote. “Everyone should take notice and review their own activities to ensure they are not involved in North Korea’s sanctions evasion.”
Trump often surprises his staff with his tweets, but the stakes get much higher when his bursts involve the U.S. relationship with North Korea, an outlaw nuclear nation that has been among the United States’ foremost adversaries.
Trump’s advisers could not immediately explain why he sent the tweet, which sanctions he was referring to and why he would allow sanctions to be announced if he planned on revoking them hours later.
DEAR ABBY: I’m a high school junior, and my school’s prom is coming up. I don’t have a date. I completely understand that I don’t need a date for prom to have fun. However, within my group of friends, we are organizing who will sit at our 18-person table, and I’m the only dateless person at our table, which means I’m the odd one out (eight couples plus me for a total of 17 seats filled).
I know I should try to have fun even if I’m the only one by myself, but the situation makes me feel so alone. I asked two different guys if they wanted to go with me: One ended up going with a different girl and will be sitting at our table. The other didn’t want to go with me.
How should I handle this situation and be able to have fun at prom, even though I’ll be sticking out as the only person in our entire group who couldn’t manage to find someone to go with -- even as a friend? – ANONYMOUS IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR ANONYMOUS: I understand why you would feel alone under these circumstances, but the truth is you WON’T be alone. You will be attending the prom with 16 friends. If you concentrate on that, you CAN have a good time hearing music you enjoy, surrounded by friends who are supportive and dancing if you wish to.
** DEAR ABBY: My partner is addicted to the phone. One day last week she spent seven hours talking to friends. There is one friend in particular she spends upwards of two hours a day talking to. On weekends they often talk three times in one day.
This happens hour after hour, and her friend loves to call at 6 in the evening, meaning we often don’t eat until well after 7. Last week I clocked her at 16 hours on the phone with just this one woman. Do I have a problem here? Or does she? – CALLING OUT IN FLORIDA
DEAR CALLING: You both have a problem. Hers is her addiction to her phone. Yours is the inability to convey to her that what she’s doing deprives you of sharing dinners together on a regular schedule, and robs you of time that could be spent communicating with each other. And that presents a danger to your relationship.