My guess? National Security Advisor John Bolton, the guy with the ‘stache. Yesterday, he gave a detailed briefing on the sanctions being imposed on North Korea, according to Josh Lederman of NBC News:
Less than 24 hours ago, top National Security Council officials sat down reporters in the EEOB to walk through these #NorthKorea sanctions and how important they are
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) March 22, 2019
Today? In a gobsmacking move, President Trump tramples all over him:
President Trump undercut his own Treasury Department on Friday by announcing that he was rolling back North Korea sanctions that it imposed just a day ago.
The move, announced on Twitter, was a remarkable display of dissension within the Trump administration and represented a striking case of a White House intervening to reverse a major national security decision made only hours earlier by the president’s own officials.
“It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea,” Mr. Trump said on Twitter. “I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!”
Mr. Trump appeared to confuse the day that the sanctions were announced, saying the move occurred on Friday rather than on Thursday.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said the decision was a favor to Mr. Kim.
“President Trump likes Chairman Kim, and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary,” she said.
Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary and one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal aides, personally signed off on the sanctions and hailed the decision in a statement accompanying them on Thursday.
“The United States and our like-minded partners remain committed to achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea and believe that the full implementation of North Korea-related U.N. Security Council resolutions is crucial to a successful outcome,” Mr. Mnuchin said in the statement. [The New York Times]
Of course, Secretary Mnuchin might beat Bolton out the door, but I think Bolton has more self-respect and, well, pride than Mnuchin.
But it’ll be fascinating to eventually learn how Kim bought his way out of the sanctions. Some official promise? Or was it of a more personal nature? Chance to sleep with a North Korea woman, trademark rights, cash on the barrel head?
Perhaps it’s time to send a small, decorative North Korean flag to all Republican Party members. Maybe a light-hearted note declaring the Republican Party is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
