President Donald Trump speaks as White House chief of staff John Kelly at a briefing with senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House October 5, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images)
Oct 07, 2017
In a pair of tweets from his Virginia golf club on Saturday, President Donald Trump once again derided attempts to pursue a diplomatic course with North Korea and argued cryptically that "only one thing" will prevent North Korea from continuing to expand its nuclear arsenal and threaten its neighbors.
\u201cPresidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid......\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1507405217
\u201c...hasn't worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, makings fools of U.S. negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1507405510
The tweets sparked immediate alarm, with many assuming that the "one thing" to which Trump referred is some form of military force, which analysts have warned could result in a catastrophic "nuclear nightmare."
\u201cDear @realDonaldTrump: Estimates of war casualties with N Korea could be 2.1 million dead and 7.7 million injured. Get the problem yet? https://t.co/nWkJc3dH6Y\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1507407756
\u201cDear @realDonaldTrump: Is that one thing you resigning? I'm sure your generals told you there are zero good military options against N Korea https://t.co/uDIBg2ZQPr\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1507406925
Some compared Saturday's tweets to Trump's offhand "calm before the storm" remark during a dinner with top military officials Thursday night, arguing that such casual provocations are extraordinarily dangerous.
Trump has repeatedly disparaged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for engaging in talks with Pyongyang, saying that he is "wasting his time."
\u201cOur best hope is that Kim Jong-un will be the grown-up of the situation and decide that Trump is just blustering. https://t.co/uUOt9D2qwr\u201d— Jeet Heer (@Jeet Heer) 1507407740
\u201cWe've had 10 months of idle, ambiguous threats to attack North Korea. They've had their most successful year yet. Give it up. https://t.co/UxmR0tHwHM\u201d— Adam Mount (@Adam Mount) 1507406768
\u201cTrump undercuts Tillerson's diplomacy again, seems to threaten war. Again.\u201d— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1507405705
\u201c@realDonaldTrump Trump's preparing US public for war with North Korea, while at the same time killing the #IranDeal. Cuz why have 1 war when you can have 2?\u201d— Trita Parsi (@Trita Parsi) 1507405828
\u201cTrump is the most dangerous man in the world. Congress needs to intervene now & take his ability to start a preemptive war. #NorthKorea\u201d— VoteVets (@VoteVets) 1507406292
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In a pair of tweets from his Virginia golf club on Saturday, President Donald Trump once again derided attempts to pursue a diplomatic course with North Korea and argued cryptically that "only one thing" will prevent North Korea from continuing to expand its nuclear arsenal and threaten its neighbors.
\u201cPresidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid......\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1507405217
\u201c...hasn't worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, makings fools of U.S. negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1507405510
The tweets sparked immediate alarm, with many assuming that the "one thing" to which Trump referred is some form of military force, which analysts have warned could result in a catastrophic "nuclear nightmare."
\u201cDear @realDonaldTrump: Estimates of war casualties with N Korea could be 2.1 million dead and 7.7 million injured. Get the problem yet? https://t.co/nWkJc3dH6Y\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1507407756
\u201cDear @realDonaldTrump: Is that one thing you resigning? I'm sure your generals told you there are zero good military options against N Korea https://t.co/uDIBg2ZQPr\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1507406925
Some compared Saturday's tweets to Trump's offhand "calm before the storm" remark during a dinner with top military officials Thursday night, arguing that such casual provocations are extraordinarily dangerous.
Trump has repeatedly disparaged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for engaging in talks with Pyongyang, saying that he is "wasting his time."
\u201cOur best hope is that Kim Jong-un will be the grown-up of the situation and decide that Trump is just blustering. https://t.co/uUOt9D2qwr\u201d— Jeet Heer (@Jeet Heer) 1507407740
\u201cWe've had 10 months of idle, ambiguous threats to attack North Korea. They've had their most successful year yet. Give it up. https://t.co/UxmR0tHwHM\u201d— Adam Mount (@Adam Mount) 1507406768
\u201cTrump undercuts Tillerson's diplomacy again, seems to threaten war. Again.\u201d— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1507405705
\u201c@realDonaldTrump Trump's preparing US public for war with North Korea, while at the same time killing the #IranDeal. Cuz why have 1 war when you can have 2?\u201d— Trita Parsi (@Trita Parsi) 1507405828
\u201cTrump is the most dangerous man in the world. Congress needs to intervene now & take his ability to start a preemptive war. #NorthKorea\u201d— VoteVets (@VoteVets) 1507406292
In a pair of tweets from his Virginia golf club on Saturday, President Donald Trump once again derided attempts to pursue a diplomatic course with North Korea and argued cryptically that "only one thing" will prevent North Korea from continuing to expand its nuclear arsenal and threaten its neighbors.
\u201cPresidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid......\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1507405217
\u201c...hasn't worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, makings fools of U.S. negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1507405510
The tweets sparked immediate alarm, with many assuming that the "one thing" to which Trump referred is some form of military force, which analysts have warned could result in a catastrophic "nuclear nightmare."
\u201cDear @realDonaldTrump: Estimates of war casualties with N Korea could be 2.1 million dead and 7.7 million injured. Get the problem yet? https://t.co/nWkJc3dH6Y\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1507407756
\u201cDear @realDonaldTrump: Is that one thing you resigning? I'm sure your generals told you there are zero good military options against N Korea https://t.co/uDIBg2ZQPr\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1507406925
Some compared Saturday's tweets to Trump's offhand "calm before the storm" remark during a dinner with top military officials Thursday night, arguing that such casual provocations are extraordinarily dangerous.
Trump has repeatedly disparaged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for engaging in talks with Pyongyang, saying that he is "wasting his time."
\u201cOur best hope is that Kim Jong-un will be the grown-up of the situation and decide that Trump is just blustering. https://t.co/uUOt9D2qwr\u201d— Jeet Heer (@Jeet Heer) 1507407740
\u201cWe've had 10 months of idle, ambiguous threats to attack North Korea. They've had their most successful year yet. Give it up. https://t.co/UxmR0tHwHM\u201d— Adam Mount (@Adam Mount) 1507406768
\u201cTrump undercuts Tillerson's diplomacy again, seems to threaten war. Again.\u201d— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1507405705
\u201c@realDonaldTrump Trump's preparing US public for war with North Korea, while at the same time killing the #IranDeal. Cuz why have 1 war when you can have 2?\u201d— Trita Parsi (@Trita Parsi) 1507405828
\u201cTrump is the most dangerous man in the world. Congress needs to intervene now & take his ability to start a preemptive war. #NorthKorea\u201d— VoteVets (@VoteVets) 1507406292
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