No deal

President Trump’s summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un — this one in Hanoi — has concluded with no agreement. I have embedded Trump’s 37-minute press conference with Secretary Pompeo in its entirety below (thank you, MSNBC). It is worth a close look. Kim wanted sanctions lifted in their entirety in exchange for too much of nothing (the dismantling of the Yongbyon nuclear complex). It had always worked for Kim in the past. Why not this time?

Nicholas Eberstadt had warned against a bad deal here in the New York Times. However, Trump did the right thing; he walked. “It was about the sanctions,” Trump said. Pompeo expressed optimism that they would ultimately reach a deal, as did Trump. They are now headed back to the United States.

The Wall Street Journal story by Vivian Salama and Jonathan Cheng has just been posted here (accessible here via Outline). My daughter Eliana’s interesting Politico story has just been posted here.

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