Trump and Kim: Shrewd move or wrong message?

The 360 is a feature designed to show you diverse perspectives on the day’s top stories.

Speed read

Who: President Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Otto Warmbier — the American student who was imprisoned in North Korea and died shortly after his release. His family maintains he was tortured and sustained a serious brain injury during the time he was held captive.

What: Trump said he confronted Kim about Warmbier’s death when the pair met in Vietnam. “He tells me that he didn’t know about it,” Trump said, “and I will take him at his word.”

Warmbier returned home to Ohio in a vegetative state on June 13, 2017 after a year in a Pyongyang prison and died six days later. Doctors who saw him then, and the coroner who examined his body, said the University of Virginia student had suffered serious brain damage.

Trump said after his Hanoi meeting that he does not hold Kim responsible for Warmbier’s death. “I don’t believe he would have allowed that to happen,” he said. “Those prisons are rough. They’re rough places. And bad things happen. … I don’t believe he knew about it.”

Warmbier’s parents rebuked Trump, saying, “Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son. … No excuses or lavish praise can change that.” And U.S. lawmakers spoke out in their support. Rep. Brad Wenstrup called Warmbier’s imprisonment and death “heinous crimes at the hands of the brutal Kim Jong Un regime,” and Sen. Chuck Schumer rapped the president for “simply deciding to take a cruel and brutal dictator at his word.”

Trump attempted to walk back his comments a day later, tweeting, “Of course I hold North Korea responsible for Otto’s mistreatment and death,” but he did not name Kim.

When & Where: Trump met Kim last week in Hanoi (their second tête-à-tête) in an attempt to reach a deal on denuclearization. The meeting ended abruptly, Trump said, after Kim asked for a full lift on sanctions in exchange for only a partial closing of nuclear sites — a deal the president declined. North Korean officials disputed Trump, saying Kim had asked for a partial lift on sanctions.

Why it matters: Trump’s remarks on Warmbier have reignited criticism of his chummy relationships with world leaders who are widely considered to be cruel despots and his seeming willingness to accept their words as truth, even when evidence from U.S. intelligence agencies contradicts them. The examples include: defending Kim in Warmbier’s death, his admission that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “probably’ been involved in assassinations and poisonings, and his defense of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. As Sen. Sherrod Brown said, “The president of the United States is sending a message to dictators around the world that he believes autocrats when they lie or when they cover up, or when they justify policies that result in the deaths of human beings.”

Perspectives

Trump’s comment wasn’t great, but if it leads to denuclearization, the cost is worth it.

“While Trump’s words were poorly chosen, I have sympathy for his broader point that just about anything that can bring about North Korea’s denuclearization is worth doing. The question is, where does the line lay? … It’s a legitimate question. But if the benefit is a denuclearization deal, then the question must be judged against the counterpoint. The counterpoint here is a prospective war with North Korea. That makes me accept Trump’s words.” — Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner

Trump’s comments put a target on the back of every American abroad.

“What every foreign ruler, dictator, president or potentate now knows is that every American tourist, journalist, college student and diplomat is fair game for capture, arrest, hostage-taking, torture or murder — all without consequence. All they have to do is lie to the president, a proven weakling, and the bad thing that happened will just go away.” — Kathleen Parker, the Washington Post

Engaging with ruthless leaders is part of the job — fawning over them betrays our values.

“It is also distasteful to see Trump praising Kim and referring to him as “my friend” and a “great leader,” and, last year, asserting that Kim had sent him “beautiful letters” and that “we fell in love.” It’s perfectly appropriate to engage with ruthless dictators, but fawning over them is a betrayal of our values.” — Nicholas Kristof, the New York Times

Trump lowered the risk of nuclear confrontation, but at a very high cost for America.

“He has managed to reduce the temperature in the relationship, lowering the risk of nuclear confrontation for the time being. But in so doing, he has also made the world cringe — unnecessarily praising a ruthless ruler, and forever tarnishing America’s image as an (admittedly flawed) advocate of human dignity for all. … Trump has shown the world that principles play a minimal role, if any, in his conduct. He defended and praised the man whose regime’s brutality led to the death of Warmbier, a young American student guilty of the most minor of infractions. It was a shameful day for America.” — Frida Ghitis, CNN

Trump gave North Korea exactly the kind of legitimizing, center-stage moment it craves.

“I agree with our editors that it was right for Trump to walk away with no deal. I also agree that he never should have walked into the summit in the first place. As of now, the ledger looks terrible. Trump gave North Korea exactly the kind of center-stage moment that it desperately craves, placing it as an equal negotiating partner with the world’s only superpower. Trump also (and inexcusably) publicly absolved Kim Jong Un of Otto Warmbier’s brutal murder.” — David French, National Review