Over the past few weeks, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been attempting to negotiate with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Since a ceasefire was signed between North and South Korea, the United States has never openly negotiated with the rogue nation. Only recently has our state department opened up a direct line of communication with North Korea.
Tillerson has been actively communicating with North Korea to de-escalate tensions and try to prevent a nuclear war. In response to the news that Tillerson was directly communicating with North Korea, President Donald Trump tweeted his disagreement with the diplomatic actions.
While our secretary of state is trying to prevent nuclear war, the child sitting in the oval office types up tweets that escalate the situation. It is time to put serious people in office, because Trump may not understand how dangerous it is to casually and recklessly challenge the supreme leader of North Korea.
Time and time again, Trump has proven he has little understanding of a wide range of important issues. It is possible Trump does not fully grasp the severity of this situation, or maybe he just does not care. After all, Republicans have rarely been opposed to war. However, it is especially reckless when North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of striking Japan, South Korea and several U.S. territories in the region.
American lives and the lives of our closest allies are at stake. We should encourage the secretary of state to keep negotiating to find a solution to the North Korea crisis. Meanwhile, our president should, at the very least, begin acting maturely, suppressing knee-jerk reactions. There are too many lives at stake to pretend like the North Korean threat is not serious.
Republicans in the House and Senate should apply pressure to the White House. While they have voiced their disappointment with the administration, it is officially time to oppose this White House’s foreign policy agenda.
If congressional Republicans cannot move Trump to be rational, then maybe his base can. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge about the North Korean situation should voice their support for the appointed representative, Tillerson.
Trump could learn from the previous Secretary of State John Kerry, who successfully negotiated a deal which prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Amazing things can be accomplished if we come together as a nation to defend democracy and diplomacy around the world.
Although it was not popular to negotiate during the Cold War, presidents ranging from John F. Kennedy to George Bush Sr. put politics aside to successfully negotiate and prevent a nuclear war. Diplomacy works. Trump, for the love of God, let Tillerson negotiate.