In a photo-op likely to be seen all over the world, Donald Trump shook hands with brutal dictator Kim Jong Un and gave the North Koreans what decades of American presidents refused to give them: legitimacy.
Standing before the startling sight of American and North Korean flags side-by-side, the two leaders shook hands.
In that moment, Kim Jong Un went from a murderous tyrant isolated by the international community to a player on the world stage — courtesy of Trump’s ego-driven foreign policy.
See the moment here:
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Trump shakes hands with Kim Jong Un in Singapore. #ctl #p2 #NuclearSummit pic.twitter.com/ZzBbo8KhXM
– PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) June 12, 2018
Trump just gave legitimacy to a murderous tyrant
During the brief photo-op, Trump said it was his “honor” to meet with Kim Jong Un — words that will likely be paraded around North Korea as proof that their leader is a power player now.
For decades, presidents of both parties refused to give this legitimacy to North Korea — and for good reason.
Kim Jong Un, and the North Korean leaders that came before him, were brutal not just to their people, but to their own family members.
As Human Rights Watch pointed out last week, “The (North Korean) government routinely uses arbitrary arrest and punishment of crimes, torture in custody, forced labor, and executions to maintain fear and control.”
But in one photo-op, this tyrannical North Korean regime is now on the same level as the United States of America. That’s a cat that cannot be put back in the bag.
While tearing America’s credibility to shreds, Trump just elevated one of the most brutal regimes on the planet.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
