Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump spar over North Korea nukes
Korean television broadcasts an an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after the country's nuclear test on Friday, Sept. 9, 2016. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump traded barbs in the wake of the nuclear test. Credit: Bloomberg / SeongJoon Cho
Here we go back to the dark and scary corners of the new global politics.
Several hours after word spread about North Korea’s latest nuclear test, Hillary Clinton put out a statement backing President Barack Obama on sanctions — with an oblique warning about Donald Trump.
“This is another reminder that America must elect a president who can confront the threats we face with steadiness and strength,” she said, and strengthen “defense cooperation with our allies, such as South Korea and Japan.”
She called for a “bipartisan foreign policy” and a president committed to reducing — not increasing — the number of nuclear weapons and nuclear states.”
Proliferation there would “increase the chances of the unthinkable happening,” she said.
In diplomat-speak, this was a clear shot at Trump’s recent suggestion that perhaps Japan should have nukes.
Trump blamed Clinton for the crisis. During her time as secretary of state, Kim Jong Un, the rogue nation’s “supreme leader,” resisted efforts to stop his nuclear buildup.
On Tuesday, Trump had said of the brewing situation: “What I would do very simply is say, ‘China, this is your baby. This is your problem. You solve the problem.’ China can solve that problem.”
After the explosion and the young dictator’s aggressive boasts, he said it “is yet one more example of Hillary Clinton’s catastrophic failures as secretary of state.”
The nuclear test was the fourth since Obama took office. Timed just after his Asian visits, it will rattle confidence in Washington, D.C., in its strategy for dealing with North Korea.
Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, crafted the message for Trump early Friday when she said on CBS: “He’s not going to reveal all of his plans and he’s made that very clear, and maybe someone can ask him in a debate.
“But the fact is that this entire world would be put on notice that there’s a strong leader in the White House,” she said.
Oddly, Kim declared himself a Trump supporter only three months ago. A propaganda website for North Korea that he controls called Trump “a prescient presidential candidate” and a “wise politician” open to negotiation, versus “thickheaded Hillary” who wanted to apply sanctions.
“It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate,” went the supreme leader’s message.
Perhaps, like former KKK leader David Duke, Kim professes to see virtues in Trump that his critics do not.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
