Impeach him
Until now, I’ve thought calls for the impeachment of Trump were premature, if not downright silly. Not any longer:
President Donald Trump opened the door Monday to a future meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, offering unusual praise for the globally ostracized leader at a time of surging nuclear tensions. . . .
“If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it,” Trump told Bloomberg News.
Honored?
Just get rid of him, he’s a disgrace to the United States of America.
PS. Here’s another reason to impeach him:
The White House is “looking into” ways to potentially change the nation’s libel laws to make it easier to go after reporters whose stories they deem inaccurate.
That’s according to President Trump’s chief spokesman Sean Spicer who told reporters during a Monday briefing that: “that is something that is being looked into, substantively and then both logistically how it would happen.”
Just embarrassing.
PPS. Here are some facts about the guy that Trump would be “honored” to meet:
A woman who survived one of North Korea’s notorious labor camps said her four children and her parents starved to death in a camp after they were all arrested as group punishment because the woman had “gossiped” about the regime’s former leader, according to a U.N. report out today.
The woman’s testimony was part of a report by the United Nations’ Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights, which issued an unusual warning to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that he could be held accountable for crimes against civilians including abduction, torture and mass starvation.
U.N. experts gathered unprecedented detailed accounts of evidence for almost a year. It includes satellite imagery and interviews with more than 80 witnesses who gave gruesome accounts of secret prison camps, starvation, and even deliberate abortions by forcing pregnant prisoners into harsh labor. . . .
In the video, Kim Young-soon said she spent nine years in Yodok prison camp along with her parents and her four children for “gossiping” about an affair her friend had with Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s former ruler and the father of the regime’s current leader.
“The guilt-by-association system applies to the family members. I may be the culprit, but the other six members of my family are forced to go with me to the prison camp without knowing the charge,” she said.
Kim’s parents, 9-year-old daughter, and three sons – ages 7, 4, and 1 – all died from starvation in the camp, she said.
“It is a place that would make your hair stand on end. No words would help you to understand what this place is like,” she said.
Kim Joo-il, a former military officer, talked on camera about mass starvation of the population and graphic details of the end stage of a person starving to death.
Sorry, but that’s the last straw for me.
Tags:
1. May 2017 at 19:01
I would talk to the young man, if I thought there was a chance it could sway his mind about blowing everything up.
1. May 2017 at 19:10
Obama ‘honored’ Raul Castro. Bill Clinton with Arafat. FDR and Truman liked Joe Stalin.
1. May 2017 at 19:12
Patrick, Is Kim helping us to fight Hitler? I didn’t think so.
1. May 2017 at 19:13
And Nixon met with the biggest mass murderer of them all, Mao. Even attended the ballet with him.
1. May 2017 at 19:15
Long after Stalin helped us with Hitler, Truman wrote a letter to him apologizing for Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech. He invited Stalin to come to American and give a speech of his own. Even offered to pick him up with an American battleship.
1. May 2017 at 19:17
Eisenhower had the Butcher of Budapest as a guest.
1. May 2017 at 19:23
Maybe Trump has been talking to Jimmy Carter;
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/24/north.korea.carter.backstory/
————–quote————
In 1994, on the eve of his trip to North Korea to persuade Kim Il Sung to negotiate with the Clinton administration over its nuclear program, Jimmy Carter had a series of briefings at the State Department.
After several hours, Carter looked around the room at the group of diplomats assembled and said, “None of you have told me what I need to know,” according to a former State Department official involved in briefing the former president.
“You haven’t told me what Kim Il Sung wants,” Carter told his briefers. “What he wants is my respect. And I am going to give it to him.”
Sources knowledgeable about Carter’s trip to Pyongyang this week to free American Aijalon Mahli Gomes expect the former president to take the same approach he used with Kim Il Sung in dealing with his son, current leader Kim Jong Il. Carter, they say, will give the North Korean leader the respect he craves, giving him a face-saving way to release Gomes.
————-endquote———–
1. May 2017 at 19:47
And leaders don’t matter so why do you care.
1. May 2017 at 20:10
I have to agree with my nemesis Patrick Sullivan.
Nixon feted Chairman Mao, who makes Kim Jong Un looks like a little boy in short pants. Nixon was never impeached (he quit first) but if he had been, it would not have been for toasting Mao.
Trump swings for the fences with every sentence. He is not a career pol or diplomat. He speaks effusively. If pandering to Kim calms things down, fine with me.
Libel laws? Great Britain somehow gets along with a free press and libel laws.
More interesting to macroeconomists:
“Boeing supports the idea of a border adjustment tax, though the impact on its supply chain is unclear and it risks a trade war with regions like China that are vital to future jet sales.”
By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter
“Boeing has joined the push for a sweeping, Republican-backed reform of the U.S. corporate tax system that would reduce the tax rate substantially while imposing a tax on imports and exempting exports.
CEO Dennis Muilenburg and the 330-company Aerospace Industries Association that he leads are lobbying hard for a comprehensive overhaul that would include what’s known as a “Border Adjustment Tax.”
So the Aerospace Industries Association is backing Trump on his tax plan.
2. May 2017 at 01:49
Note to anyone and Scott: I have a job following Far East exchanges. It has puzzled me—the S. Korean stock market.
“Seoul: Stocks close at six-year high on strong exports, won firms”
This is a headline from today.
If you asked me, getting nuked should not be good for the market. I conclude the S. Koreans place little credence in Kim Jong Un rantings or the odds of war.
2. May 2017 at 02:21
Embarrassment is not a “Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors”. It’s just embarrassment.
2. May 2017 at 03:16
Scott,
According to the ethics lawyers of the previous two administrations, Trump has been in violation of the emoluments clause. They believe those are grounds for impeachment. If the Democrats can take over Congress, members like me will expect impeachment.
Unfortunately though, the Democrats are extraordinarily stupid politically, cowardly, and corrupt, so they may choose to simply let Trump run for re-election and lose to him once again.
On the other hand, Democrats seem to be slowly relearning the lesson that votes can be bought with stupid redistributionist policies that hurt the economy, like further subsidizing expensive healthcare or higher education. So,even a win for them means some bad policy, but at least they won’t put someone up like Trump.
2. May 2017 at 03:21
Trump also said he’d be honored to meet Duterte last week, who then publicly blew him off. Trump’s an idiot.
2. May 2017 at 03:37
I voted for him. Enshrine him. Didn’t you ever see “The Dirty Dozen” 1967? Didn’t you ever see Apocalypse Now, 1979 American epic war film with Marlon Brando?
2. May 2017 at 03:58
Agree with the stupidity of supporting libel laws but meeting with Kim should be commended if it keeps us out of another conflict.
2. May 2017 at 04:01
History has been re-written, over and over. The geologist (who lived off his oil wells), that lived in a stone quarried Tudor home across the street (had a hidden panel leading to a room off his dining room, used as a liquor cellar during the prohibition), told me tales about the developer, who’s property just sold for $660 million. There was a wild, wild, West. And the Indians were savages.
2. May 2017 at 04:30
Patrick Sullivan mastering the art of whataboutism, the main argument method of autocrats, dictators and their supporters.
– “Trump did this insane thing”
– “But but so did other presidents 60 years ago”
Trump fans so often change subject from Trump to something else. I mean why the hell would you bring up FDR when we are talking about a Trump comment from 2017?
2. May 2017 at 04:46
Well, Andy, because diplomacy is in the job description of American Presidents. As I’ve provided examples for your edification.
2. May 2017 at 05:03
http://www.haaretz.com/news/cia-papers-show-arafat-ordered-murder-of-u-s-diplomats-in-sudan-1.252996
————-quote———-
Henry Kissinger instructed the CIA to continue diplomatic contacts with Yassir Arafat’s PLO representatives before the 1973 Yom Kippur War, even after Arafat ordered the kidnapping and murder of the American ambassador and his deputy in Khartoum, Sudan.
The diplomatic contacts, described only as related to security issues ¬ which had been revealed previously but not their contents – were exposed in the papers of former CIA chief Richard Helms that were made available to the public last week.
—————-endquote————
The same Yasser Arafat both Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton ‘honored’ with diplomatic niceties. Clinton even made the Israeli PM shake hands publicly with Arafat.
2. May 2017 at 05:29
I have to agree with Lorenzo from Oz: embarrassing the country isn’t an impeachable offense.
2. May 2017 at 06:09
We should only meet with Kim if we get a credible substantive agreement upfront, the details of which are merely to be worked out.
2. May 2017 at 07:30
It gets worse (if that’s possible) – http://bit.ly/2pJISUo
2. May 2017 at 07:47
Max Lybbert,
Trump has apparently been in violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution from day one. For example, see former Bush ethics lawyer Richard Painter’s comments:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/314055-george-w-bushs-ethics-lawyer-criticizes-trumps-business-plan
2. May 2017 at 08:28
The emolument clause argument always seemed goofy to me: “some of his business’ customers are (divisions of) foreign governments; therefore he’s receiving emoluments!” I wouldn’t call it an emolument unless he receives more than the fair market value for goods or services provided.
But assuming it’s an actual violation, then call for impeachment based on that offense. If I ask “do Trump International’s customers create a Constitutional problem for the president,” the answer shouldn’t be “what was his last tweet?”
2. May 2017 at 09:54
Scott, I agree with you that Kim is pure evil. It would be great if he could be taken out and the poor people of North Korea set free. Trump is using the carrot and stick strategy to try to make that happen. He and the military have been ramping up the pressure on Kim, showing him that if he wants to continue down the warpath, he’ll get the worst of what we have to offer. That’s the stick. The carrot is Trump giving Kim an out. Trump’s rhetoric praising Kim is realpolitik and shows Kim that the stick isn’t the only option. Trump’s rhetoric is an important element of making Kim know that there is a peaceful resolution if he so wishes to not take the stick.
2. May 2017 at 10:09
Max Lybbert,
Trump has unacceptable financial conflicts of interest, both foreign and domestic. This shouldn’t be difficult to understand. He has to choose between those financial interests and being President. He can’t do both.
Hopefully, if Democrats take over Congress, they’ll hold Trump accountable for this.
2. May 2017 at 10:36
The emoluments clause is different from a simple conflict of interest. It is much more specific, allows Congress to approve certain foreign awards, such as Nobel prize, and turned out to not have been an issue for two centuries.
If the clause were understood to prohibit any profit-making that might be traced in some way to a foreign government, it would limit elected office to people who have no background outside of government, nonprofits, or the military. The so-called elite. I have a feeling that’s the point. But I can’t imagine how a citizen-run government could work while prohibiting merchants from holding office. Should Washington have put Mount Vernon in a blind trust? Agreed to limit who he could sell his products to?
2. May 2017 at 11:19
Trump is a terrible president, but meeting with a foreign leader isn’t a bad idea at all. I wouldn’t expect the meeting to accomplish much, because it would still be Donald Trump. The North Korean regime is perfectly capable of being terrible without such meetings, as it has been for a very long time.
2. May 2017 at 13:10
Max Lybbert,
I don’t know what your expertise is, but I’m not an expert on constitutional law or executive branch ethics. However, the last two White House ethics attorneys, from each party, has said Trump is in violation. I’ll trust their opinions over yours for now.
2. May 2017 at 13:12
I should say also that whatever the law or constitution says, the conflicts of interest as apparent in Trump’s situation are unacceptable. “Merchants” should have to give up their business interests entirely while in the White House.
2. May 2017 at 14:13
Imagine if Great Britain was upset about losing the American Revolution. Could the British government forced George Washington from office by having an ambassador buy hemp from Mount Vernon, and then report to Congress that Washington had accepted an emolument?
2. May 2017 at 14:15
Wonks Anonymous,
Meeting with Kim is a bad idea if there’s no pre-agreement on the willingness to give up nuclear weapons and/or missile technology. At the very least, the broad outlines of an agreement must be solid and committed to. Otherwise, it’s a total waste of time for and rewards the Kim regime for their extortion attempts.
2. May 2017 at 14:39
Max Lybbert,
I consider that reply ludicrous and I’m beginning to think you’re a Trumpista.
2. May 2017 at 15:33
So to paraphrase:
(1) it is ludicrous to ask whether an ambassador buying hemp from Mount Vernon could force Washington from office
(2) a corporation that Trump controls has leased space to foreign governments at market rates; obviously this means those governments have undue influence on the president and a court should either require he forgo the payments or step down from office (or be impeached).
I started by saying I found the emoluments clause argument goofy. You’ve had a chance to present the argument, and so far you haven’t convinced me. I believe you realize this, because you appear to be trying to insult me when your arguments don’t go anywhere (“this shouldn’t be difficult to understand” “I’m beginning to think you’re a Trumpista”).
But I will agree with you that this discussion isn’t going anywhere.
2. May 2017 at 16:06
“Sorry, but that’s the last straw for me.”
Haha, no you were already at your last straw well before the passages you quoted
Now you’re just reaching for the lowest hanging fruit while AGAIN acting and thinking inconsistently
Obama went after whistleblowers and journalists, you just read fake news all the time so you don’t know about it. Obama used the “Espionage Act” against whistleblowers more than all previous administrations in US history combined.
Obama, the Justice Department and the F.B.I. have spied on reporters by monitoring their phone records, labelled one journalist an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal case for simply doing reporting and issued subpoenas to other reporters to try to force them to reveal their sources and testify in criminal cases.
Obama had more journalists arrested than all previous administrations in US history combined.
Read this 2013 report:
https://cpj.org/reports/2013/10/obama-and-the-press-us-leaks-surveillance-post-911.php
Presidents talking to dictators is worthy of impeachment? Has it ever occurred to you Sumner than maybe just maybe Trump doesn’t like Kim Jong Un at all but wants to find a way to play him, and you know, talking to him might reveal a potential way to do that? Did you honestly believe Trump wants to become actual friends with Kim Jong Un? Your Trump derangement syndrome has made you even more insane.
Obama met with murderous African country dictators…
Such as:
Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
President Obiang is Africa’s longest sitting dictator. He seized power from his uncle and mentor in 1979. Since then, he has either shot or jailed nearly all of his political opponents.
President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso
This piece of work seized power in 1987 by killing his predecessor.
and
Cameroon President Paul Biya
Biya invented the election fraud tactic of paying for a set of international observers to certify his elections as legitimate. This is likely how he has President since 1983.
and
Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos
Human rights groups have alleged that dos Santos exploited his country’s resources for his own gain. He stands accused of murdering a number of people.
and
President of Gambia Yahya Jammeh
Accused of countless violations of human rights, in 2008 he threatened to ‘cut off the head’ of all homosexuals. In 2009, it was reported that up to 1,000 Gambians had been abducted by the government on charges of witchcraft. They were subsequently taken to prisons and forced to drink poison.
Obama met with this dictators…
In the freakin White House…
Remember Africa, Sumner? It’s a whole continent across the Atlantic ocean. You probably have RUSSIARUSSIARUSSIA on the brain 24/7 after being brainwashed by fake news
Of course as a left wing socialist you never called for Obama’s impeachment for doing even worse things in the very areas you cite.
Which makes you a…
Rhymes with schmipocrite
This blog is a joke
2. May 2017 at 18:04
IMHO, dealing with dictators is the area where Trump is NOT a buffoon. Why ? being a well-known guy in NYC, I suspect Trump has had to deal with mobsters. Mobsters and dictators are probably a lot alike. He has some understanding of them. One thing (1st thing, actually) the mobster always seem to want is “respect.” A lot of times their biggest peeve is a feeling of lack of respect by society. They think “Hey, I have succeed through hard-work, grit, skill and intelligence. And, don’t get the credit I deserve b/c society thinks I’m bad guy.” Trump understands that I think… Finally, I think this is the only time I have ever defended Trump on anything. 🙂
2. May 2017 at 21:38
Max Lybbert,
Are you a Trump supporter? Did you vote for him?
3. May 2017 at 05:18
Ricardo,
That’s a very naive viewpoint. Foreign policy is a great deal more complex than dealing with mobsters to get a building up or to get loans. Trump has no apparent orientation, i.e. realist, neo-realist, idealist, etc., because he isn’t knowledgeable or sophisticated enough to have one. He’s just an idiot.
3. May 2017 at 06:49
If Trump came out saying slavery was cool you’d get a bunch of clowns falling all over themselves pointing out when other presidents owned slaves or said racist stuff.
why defend this guy? he sucks. we elected an incompetent, demented freakshow. so ok, we’ve had terrible presidents before. but how much more evidence do you need that Trump is bad?
shame of it is he might have been useful as a bloviating reality star that gave the alt right and outlet via some semi-famous avatar. oh well, at least some struggling news companies will have a decent quadrennial.
3. May 2017 at 08:51
Everyone, Please read my posts before commenting. I never suggested that Trump should not meet with Kim.
3. May 2017 at 08:55
It’s not fair to assume a meaning behind Trump’s words and then attack him based on your assumption, because in truth there is no meaning behind most of the words he uses.
You could equally have assigned a different meaning and defended him on that basis. For example, assume that he meant “I am honored that Americans have chosen me to represent them when I meet this completely dishonorable leader.”
I think his salesman brain just automatically adds “honored” to the phrase “to meet”. It’s like when you make a selection at a restaurant and the waiter says “that’s a great choice!” They probably don’t have an opinion on the appetizer you picked, it’s just something they’ve been trained to say in their job.
And finally if you’re going to be picky about words (which I agree, Trump should be and isn’t!) then look into the meaning of ‘impeach’ and understand why this kind of thing is not an impeachable offense.
3. May 2017 at 17:34
“Everyone, Please read my posts before commenting. I never suggested that Trump should not meet with Kim.”
Abort! Abort!
Impeachment for….using a particular word?
Try again.
Obviously Trump is using the word “honored” to flatter and encourage Kim to meet and be open. Yes, yes, you don’t understand negotiations, we get all that, but if you did know, then you would know you would get better deals with people when you flatter them like this.
If that fails, then he could start using the politically correct terms that are hanging from that unbearably low hanging fruit tree.
Hahahaha, impeachment for saying a word.
Should Obama be arrested for the multi billion dollar slush fund? Or how about for plundering Fannie and Freddie to pay for Obamacare? Or how about for jailing more journalists than all previous Presidents combined? Should Hillary be arrrested for lying to Congress? For illegal transmission of classified information? For attacking the victims of Bill Clinton’s raping? For illegally taking bribes from foreign nations through the Clinton Foundation? For allowing the deaths of Americans at Benghazi?
Here you are calling for the impeachment of a President for using a bad word?
YOU ARE INSANE
4. May 2017 at 03:34
Remember when Sumner guffawed and pooh poohed the allegations that the Obama admin spied on the Trump team? Because as a left wing socialist he had so much faith in the goodness of left wing state power? That time?
http://circa.com/politics/president-obamas-team-sought-nsa-intel-on-thousands-of-americans-during-the-2016-election
Not only the Trump team, but thousands of other American citizens, we’re spied on, names unmasked, and circulated along many state agencies.
Add to this the fact that Susan Rice announced her refusal to testify in front of Congress about this.
Remember that moneyillusion post that I said would not age well?
5. May 2017 at 13:53
He’s been pleasantly better than expected, and nothing close to the fever dreams peddled before the election.
Dude has started no wars, there are no jack-boots stomping through America, and he has not gone out of his way to publicly ignore judicial decisions. All of which were promised side-effects of voting for Trump.
7. May 2017 at 00:27
Here is some background re the ‘worst regime in history’?
‘1994, [Bill] Clinton made—established what was called the Framework Agreement with North Korea. North Korea would terminate its efforts to develop nuclear weapons. The U.S. would reduce hostile acts. It more or less worked, and neither side lived up to it totally, but, by 2000, North Korea had not proceeded with its nuclear weapons programs. George W. Bush came in and immediately launched an assault on North Korea—you know, “axis of evil,” sanctions and so on. North Korea turned to producing nuclear weapons. In 2005, there was an agreement between North Korea and the United States, a pretty sensible agreement. North Korea agreed to terminate its development of nuclear weapons. In return, it called for a non-aggression pact. So, stop making hostile threats, relief from harsh sanctions, and provision of a system to provide North Korea with low-enriched uranium for medical and other purposes—that was the proposal. George Bush instantly tore it to shreds. Within days, the U.S. was imposing—trying to disrupt North Korean financial transactions with other countries through Macau and elsewhere. North Korea backed off, started building nuclear weapons again. I mean, maybe you can say it’s the worst regime in history, whatever you like, but they have been following a pretty rational tit-for-tat policy.’
https://goo.gl/mTg987
Why N.K. does not ‘trust’ the U.S.A.?
“The US invasion and devastation of Korea, including the slaughter of at least three million Koreans and the leveling of nearly every city in the country by means of aerial bombardment, would become a model for the ‘invisible’ corporate warfare waged against the world but denied at home.”
http://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/free/lobster68/lob68-cold-war.pdf
7. May 2017 at 12:16
I would consider the phrasing here.
It sounds more like he “would be honored to do it” as in honored to be the person that opens negotiations.
He didn’t say honored to meet him.
7. May 2017 at 14:12
Some of the comments here are just silly, especially Postkey. So North Korea was just walking down the street, bothering nobody, and then the big bad US invades and kills 3 million? Do you get your history from Noam Chomsky?
And Korea would not have developed nukes if Bush had been nicer to them?
8. May 2017 at 13:30
L.O.L..
“So North Korea was just walking down the street, bothering nobody, … ”
That’s the degree of ‘sophistication’ {sillyness?} of your ‘argument’?
Been watching too many John Wayne films?
Ignore “the leveling of nearly every city in the country by means of aerial bombardment, . . . “?
“And Korea would not have developed nukes if Bush had been nicer to them?”
Who knows. Certainly not an apologist for the M.I.C..
“It more or less worked, and neither side lived up to it totally, but, by 2000, North Korea had not proceeded with its nuclear weapons programs.”
“Do you get your history from Noam Chomsky?”
Play the man not the ball. Again!
11. May 2017 at 01:14
Here is a prediction from N.C..
” . . . one of the major international monitoring scientific agencies presented the data on greenhouse emissions for the latest year on record, 2013. They reached record levels: they went up over 2 percent beyond the preceding year. For the US they went up even higher, almost 3 percent.
The Journal of the American Medical Association came out with a study the same day looking at the number of super hot days that are predicted for New York over the next couple of decades, super hot meaning over ninety. They predicted it will triple for New York, and much worse effects farther south. This is all going along with predicted sea-level rise, which is going to put a lot of Boston under water. Let alone the Bangladesh coastal plan, where hundreds of millions of people live, will be wiped out.
All of this is imminent. And at this very moment the logic of our institutions is driving it forward. So Exxon Mobil, which is the biggest energy producer, has announced — and you can’t really criticize them for it; this is the nature of the state capitalist system, its logic — that they are going to direct all of their efforts to lifting fossil fuels, because that’s profitable. In effect, that’s exactly what they should be doing, given the institutional framework. They’re supposed to make profits. And if that wipes out the possibility of a decent life for the grandchildren, it’s not their problem.
Chevron, another big energy corporation, had a small sustainable program, mostly for PR reasons, but it was doing reasonably well, it was actually profitable. They just closed it down because fossil fuels are so much more profitable.
In the US by now there’s drilling all over the place. But there’s one place where it has been somewhat limited, federal lands. Energy lobbies are complaining bitterly that Obama has cut back access to federal lands. The Department of Interior just came out with the statistics. It’s the opposite. The oil drilling on federal lands has steadily increased under Obama. What has decreased is offshore drilling.
But that’s a reaction to the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Right after that disaster, the immediate reaction was to back off. Even the energy companies backed off from deep-sea drilling. The lobbies are just pulling these things together. If you look at the onshore drilling, it’s just going up. There are very few brakes on this. These tendencies are pretty dangerous, and you can predict what kind of world there will be for your grandchildren.”
https://chomsky.info/201502__/
Do you ‘care’about your grandchildren?
17. May 2017 at 01:40
Some’history’ from the L.R.B.?
“But then, as General Powell well knew, we had already turned North Korea into a charcoal briquette. The filmmaker Chris Marker visited the country in 1957, four years after US carpet-bombing ended, and wrote: ‘Extermination passed over this land. Who could count what burned with the houses?”
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n10/bruce-cumings/a-murderous-history-of-korea