WASHINGTON, DC – Today, as details about the Trump-Kim summit continue to emerge and North Korean state media broadcast its first behind-the-scenes video of President Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong Un, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:

“There is nothing wrong with trying diplomacy when it comes to North Korea.  The Administration rightly changed course and pursued diplomatic engagement over social media insults.  But President Trump is like a weak student who refuses to do his homework and conduct himself in a manner befitting the President of the United States.  His glib comments regarding human rights and pattern of praise for authoritarian leaders is troubling.

“Clearly, President Trump is more concerned with showmanship than policy and statesmanship.  But he needs to understand his weaknesses and words have serious, long-term repercussions for the strength of America.  When he described U.S. military joint exercises with South Korea as “war games” and “provocative,” he used North Korea’s preferred propaganda term to describe America’s actions and gave the Chinese government a win.  It is unclear if his announcement to cancel the joint exercises was made impulsively, or if he simply failed to consult with our allies, who were caught off guard by the decision.

“His staff and cabinet officials are doing their best, but there is a good deal of alarm and confusion within the President’s own national security team whenever he goes off script, which seems to happen frequently.  It is difficult to achieve diplomatic progress when the highest ranking person in the room keeps blowing it.

“Additionally, when President Trump makes a patently false claims like his tweet that: “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.” -- it remains unclear if he is deliberately trying to mislead the American people, or does he simply not grasp the issues?  Let’s be very clear since the President seems unable to be: North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are very real and will remain until they are irreversibly destroyed. 

“Claiming you’re tough isn’t the same thing as actually being tough and winning an enforceable and verifiable denuclearization treaty. 

“The fact is President Trump made several major concessions to the North Koreans and got no real value in return beyond a series of personal photo ops with a dictator and the hope that North Korea will do the right thing at some point. 

“If President Trump doesn’t step up and improve coordination with his own staff and our loyal allies, I fear he will keep handing victories to North Korea and do a real disservice to the security of America and our allies.”