[The Editors' Verdict] June 13, 2018 Edition of The New York Times

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Il-gwon] Former White House National Security Council (NSC) advisor John Bolton's memoir is an excellent confirmation of Donald Trump's thoroughly calculated perception of diplomacy, regardless of the veracity of specific matters. His diplomatic style, which emphasizes personal interests over national interests and private intimacy over official relations, was fully reflected in his book.

While searching around the time of the Singapore North Korea?United States summit, I found two articles in The New York Times (NYT) that provide a comprehensive understanding of President Trump's diplomacy. One article, published on the front page on June 13, 2018, featured a photo of North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un leaving the summit room side by side with President Trump, with Trump’s hand on Kim’s back, and the headline read, "Trump pressured Kim Jong-un to make a pledge but did not secure guarantees." The other was a small article at the bottom of the front page titled "Peace and Petunias (a type of flower) overshadow tension in a Canadian border town."

These two articles vividly showed President Trump's tendency to treat hostile countries with kindness while increasing the level of attack against allies. The NYT criticized the Singapore summit outcome by saying he was "closer to a salesman than a politician," and that he "used flattery and sweet talk to try to make the North Korean leader a partner for peace." Bolton’s description of the first North Korea?United States summit as "completely fooled by Kim Jong-un" was therefore not an exaggeration.

On the other hand, the Canadian article reported that the installation of flower pots on the Canadian border in Derby Line, Vermont, intensified the closest bilateral tensions. This was triggered by the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, to which Canada retaliated with tariffs on U.S. dairy products.

Notably, the G7 summit was held in Canada on June 10, 2018, two days before the North Korea?United States summit, and President Trump clashed not only with Canada but also with other world leaders attending the meeting. Bolton wrote in his memoir that Trump really disliked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau along with French President Emmanuel Macron among the leaders, and described a photo of G7 leaders surrounding Trump as "not a good moment for Western allies." This created a stark contrast with the bromance he had shortly after with Chairman Kim.

Two years later, President Trump's diplomatic strategy is ultimately on the path to failure. Above all, the denuclearization of North Korea, which he invested much effort in, has fallen through, and signs of renewed tension are emerging on the Korean Peninsula. Prioritizing personal interests over national interests and the grand plan of wanting to be president again have shaken the foundation of U.S. diplomacy.

The economy is no different. The Trump administration’s consistent stance is that "America First" does not mean "America Alone." However, the result is trending toward "America Alone." Instead of free trade, tariff barriers were chosen, and the U.S. withdrew from multilateral trade negotiations. This is coming back as a boomerang not only to the global economy but ultimately to the U.S. economy. The birth of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) after the U.S. withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations dealt a significant shock to the "world leader" status.

President Trump's path to reelection is difficult. What kind of plan he will present remains uncertain. However, everyone except President Trump himself likely knows the answer to what efforts must be made for reelection. The whole world is anxiously watching whether he will be reelected.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.