President Donald Trump is in Singapore for his high-profile summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
At stake is nothing short of the denuclearization of a nuclear-capable state that has ballistic missiles capable of reaching any part of America.
The geopolitics involved are complicated as well. For decades, North Korea has been backed by communist China, which has had a keen interest in maintaining the North as a buffer state used to pressure the United States. It also involves Russian interests, as the Kremlin stepped up its backing of North Korea as soon as China imposed sanctions in September last year.
For example, a leaked State Department cable from Feb. 24, 2010, revealed that in 2005, North Korea shipped 19 ballistic missiles to Iran.
In short, the challenges are massive and the fact that Trump was able to force North Korea to the negotiating table is remarkable in and of itself.
Just months ago, Pyongyang, in its state media, regularly threatened to strike the U.S. mainland as well as its allies in the region. Now, it talks about the need for peace and the possible reunification between North and South Korea.
It took Trump and his administration a year to get to this point, using diplomatic, economic, and military pressure.
By all accounts, however, it appears that peace is within reach.
You would think all of us in America and beyond have a vested interest in seeing Trump succeed in realizing the denuclearization of the North and the avoidance of a nuclear war, which would cause millions of deaths.
America’s celebrities, however, appear to have a different opinion.
On Sunday evening, during the 72nd Tony Awards ceremony, actor Robert De Niro took the stage saying, “I’m going to say one thing, [expletive] Trump.”
As he threw his fists in the air, De Niro went on to say, “It’s no longer down with Trump, it’s [expletive] Trump.”
The response of the audience? A standing ovation.
Just days earlier, HBO host Bill Maher said on his show “Real Time with Bill Maher” that he hopes the economy crashes because he wants to get rid of Trump.
“I think one way you get rid of Trump is a crashing economy. So please, bring on the recession. Sorry if that hurts people,” said Maher, whose own net worth is in the tens of millions.
Luckily, what Maher is suggesting is not the case. Unemployment fell to 3.8 percent, an 18-year-low, in May. African-American and Hispanic unemployment levels have both reached historic lows of 5.9 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Female unemployment is down to its lowest level since 1953, at 3.6 percent.
The improved economy has spurred significant growth, with employers offering 6.7 million jobs in April—more than one for every person considered unemployed.
Most Americans are recognizing this as well.
Regardless of your politics, isn’t it in everyone’s best interest for the world to avoid a nuclear war and for the economy to keep improving?