Presumptive presidential contender Donald Trump says he is prepared to meet North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Would we characterise such a meeting as the summit of silly hairstyles: the silliest meets the second silliest? I will leave you to determine who’s first.
But who gains from such meeting? Well, probably both men. Kim Jong-un, using the perverse logic that governs much of what he does, may feel that meeting a presidential contender gives his presidency international legitimacy—though, perversely, he doesn’t seem to care or want it. Donald Trump may feel that meeting the world’s most troublesome leader gives his candidature international gravitas, though, perversely, he doesn’t seem to care or want it. Or perhaps Trump simply wants to plant in Kim Jong-un’s mind the idea of building a wall between North Korea and those pesky southerners. Walls are good and, depending on their location, multipurpose—on the Mexican border they are good for keeping people out; in North Korea they are good for keeping people in.
But the main reason for a visit, says Trump (69), is that he believes he can talk “some sense” into the young dictator. Good luck with that—Kim Jong-un (33) acts and is little more than a petulant child—albeit a dangerous one. Trump may have more luck in his second hypothesis—getting North Korea’s only ally, China, to talk some sense into Jong-un. After all, Trump “loves” Chinese (and they of course love him)—it’s where he gets his Trump-brand shirts and ties made. Of course such a meeting—whilst likely attractive to both men—is unlikely. Kim Jong-un never leaves North Korea, even to visit China, and The Don expects the world to come to him, not the other way around.
So why is Trump postulating such an idea? Probably for that very reason—it is unlikely to happen and is therefore low-risk grandstanding on a grand scale. I doubt he would have got the same coverage had he stated his preparedness and preference to meet John Key, or my good friend Yoseph Wankerstan of Wogistan.
And there I think lies, on an as yet a small scale, the reason Donald Trump may be potentially a greater danger to the world than Kim Jong-un ever will. I believe Donald Trump has a low boredom threshold. And when he reaches it, crosses it, he does or says something outlandish—just to liven things up. At the moment that doesn’t matter. He is little more than good for a laugh. As is Kim Jong-un, unless you are living under his brutal dictatorship. But imagine what it would be like if Donald Trump became President and in charge of the world’s largest and best-equipped military monolith. What in his boredom could he do with that? Outlandish hypothesise, you say? Checks and balances, you state? Perhaps. But think upon this: Americans voted in a President (George W. Bush)who took his country to war on the basis of little more than God and the oil barons telling him to do so. Is the idea of a megalomaniac such as Donald Trump getting bored and wanting to make a big statement any less outlandish?
Perhaps. Perhaps not. What do I know? What do you know? What does anyone know about what goes on inside Donald Trump’s head.
At the moment, we seem more interested in what is on top of it.
But that could change.
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