Conservative commentator wonders Trump wants a meeting with Kim Jong Un as a distraction

Conservative Washington Post commentator Max Boot wondered if the White House forgot about the goal of denuclearization with North Korea.

In a panel discussion with CNN, Max Boot noted that Trump lost his leverage with Kim by allowing another summit without any pre-conditions.

"The president gave Kim all the leverage because he was getting the advantage of standing side by side with the most powerful man in the world," Boot explained Sunday. "And the American side didn't really get much out of Kim, apart from an undertaking to move toward denuclearization. And the time has passed since that summit, we've seen very little movement toward permanent denuclearization."

In fact, Boot explained that the opposite is the case. U.S. intelligence agencies have found that missiles and the nuclear program continues in North Korea. So, clearly, whatever the president and Secretary Mike Pompeo have done isn't working.

"What has Kim Jong-Un done to earn or deserve this second summit?" ask host Ana Cabrara.

"Nothing, but Donald Trump is desperate for something to distract from his domestic attention, hence the summit," Boot said. "It's very interesting that you don't hear the trump administration even talking anymore about denuclearization with North Korea. They're talking about how great it is that there's a nuclear freeze going on right now in terms of testing, even though the North Korean nuclear program continues to expand."

John Bolton wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the second summit would be more productive, but Boot said it was unlikely.

"Donald Trump is going to make concessions that a John Bolton or Mike Pompeo would not make," Boot said. "Kim Jong-Un has made clear he wants major concessions before he will even talk about denuclearization including a peace declaration ending the Korean War, an end of military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea, relaxation of sanctions and Donald Trump could well give him some of that."

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