NKorea worries ex-congressmen from Ohio
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan pair of former Ohio congressmen expressed grave concern Tuesday about President Donald Trump’s handling of North Korea, saying they worry that a diplomatic misstep could provoke the communist nation to attack South Korea.
The worries expressed to the Dayton Development Coalition came from former Reps. David L. Hobson, a Springfield Republican, and Tony Hall, a Dayton Democrat.
“What he’s doing in North Korea scares me,” said Hall, noting that he has visited North Korea multiple times and the regime is unpredictable.
“They told me when I was in North Korea, ‘We’ve got nothing to lose, and we’re starving to death, and if you don’t feed us and keep messing with us, we’ll attack South Korea,’” he said.
Hall said the culture in many eastern Asian countries puts great value on saving face.
“You can’t bully them,” he said. “You have to be very, very careful.”
Hall said that although he likes that Trump “breaks the mold” and “is not afraid to do things a little bit differently,” “he concerns me.”
“He’s so unpredictable, and he’s so spontaneous,” Hall said.
Hobson, meanwhile, said he is similarly concerned about the unpredictability of North Korea. He said China might have to “step up and figure out how in the world to deal with North Korea.”
Although Hobson was less critical of Trump, he expressed dismay that the president has mentioned nuclear weapons in his discussions of foreign policy.
“When somebody talks the way he did about the nuclear arsenal and nuclear weapons, that’s stuff I really get nervous about,” Hobson said. “Because once you use one of those suckers, there’s no retreat.”
If North Korea attacked South Korea, “there’d be a huge loss of life there. I pray that it never happens. If it does happen, there’s going to be a huge conflict.”
The two spoke during the first day of the Dayton Development Coalition’s annual Washington fly-in, its 33rd.
Hall and Hobson talked of a time when it was easier to get things done in Washington.
Hall, who left the House in 2002, said that when he and Hobson were in office, they, along with then-Reps. Michael G. Oxley and John Boehner, “had this thing between us, a pact that was unwritten, not to put money against each other, not to say anything unkind about one another, not to run anybody against each other, and we felt that was bad manners to do it, and it was wrong to do it.
“Because not only were we friends, but we had to do business with each other when we got elected. We had to work with each other.”
Hall added, “I tell you this because it’s the way it ought to be. It’s not the way it is.”
Hobson, who retired from the House in January 2009, said the 24-hour news cycle has created anger that has fueled some of the partisanship. He said that when constituents called his office and cursed at his staff, he would call the constituents back and tell them not to do that again.
“Things are more pointed today than, I think, they were in the past,” he said.
“For me, I’m a little dissatisfied with the Congress right now,” Hobson said. “It’s got to find its way. Each political party needs to become, within itself, better. And then they need to figure out how to work with each other better.”