President Trump made history Tuesday as he met face-to-face with North Korean despot Kim Jong-un for the first time and signed an agreement to move towards peace and denuclearization, a goal only the liberal media would find something to whine about.
While broadcast networks ABC and CBS were skeptical about how the agreement would turn out (a legitimate concern considering North Korea’s history of reneging on such deals), NBC Nightly News took a noticeably harsher tone and railed against President Trump. This decrying of Trump’s agreement comes after NBC has gone to bat time and time again for the radical Islamic regime of Iran and against our President.
“So after all the pomp and circumstance, what comes next? How does the U.S. hold North Korea to its commitment to denuclearize after its broken nuclear promises in the past,” anchor Lester Holt condescendingly wondered ahead of a report by chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell.
Mitchell began her report by scoffing at claims by President Trump that he trusted Kim and his intentions. “How can the U.S. be sure? A key missing ingredient, no requirement that Kim Jong-un disclose how many weapons he has or where they are hidden,” she huffed.
This pessimism was coming from the same NBC reporter who had apparently made it a personal mission to defend President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. Mitchell once asserted that any suggestion from Trump that Iran was a threat in some way was nothing but ploys. She rolled her eyes at Trump trusting Kim but on a trip to Cuba last year, she met some of their intelligence officials and bought into their claims of aiding U.S. intelligence officials, yet she never said if she confirmed it.
The latest liberal media criticism of what came out of the meeting was how Trump agreed to call off military exercises with South Korea. “But apparently no one told the South Koreans President Trump promised chairman Kim he'd scrap them,” chided NBC foreign correspondent Richard Engel. “American forces in South Korea said they, too, received ‘no updated guidance on execution or cessation of training exercises.’”
But how could they have been made aware? The announcement was made shortly after they stepped out of the meeting. “Cancelling these war games is seen here as a major concession to North Korea,” Engel continued to huff. Of course, there was no mention of how such an exercise nearly led to the summit being derailed altogether.
Then came the allusions to President Trump not caring about Kim Jong-un’s and North Korea’s abysmal human right record. “One issue that did not receive much discussion during this summit was the brutal reality of life in North Korea … NBC's Hallie Jackson has more on what wasn't said at this historic face-to-face,” announced Holt. The only problem was that they had a clip of Trump saying they talked about it.
Jackson began her report by making it seem like Trump didn’t know what he was talking about (click “expand” to read):
JACKSON: In Singapore, smiles and a stroll from Kim Jong-un but back home, a U.N. report paints a much more grim picture. One of extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, crimes against humanity.
DONALD TRUMP: His country does love him. His people, you see the fervor. They have a great fervor.
JACKSON: But what he calls “fervor,” the U.N. calls indoctrination. Another in a long and disturbing list of human rights abuses Kim's accused of.
TRUMP: It was discussed. It was discussed relatively briefly compared to denuclearization. That's where we started and ended.
“
But on Capitol Hill, disappointment today that human rights wasn't more of a focus,” she continued. “There's been a lot left off the table. There are a lot of scant details. That's why this amounts to nothing more, at this point, than a photo-op,” New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker bemoaned in a clip.
It’s hypocritical that they would slam Trump for allegedly not bringing up North Korea’s human rights record in their very first meeting when Iran’s human rights record didn’t appear to be a concern in Obama’s nuclear deal. In fact, Iran’s record didn’t appear to be a concern for NBC when they sympathized with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani against our President. And they never reported on-air how Obama ‘sabotaged’ the U.S.’s anti-terror efforts to get Iran to sign the deal.
The relevant portions of the transcript are below, click "expand" to read:
NBC Nightly News
June 12, 2018
7:04:51 PM Eastern [6 minutes 24 seconds]LESTER HOLT: So after all the pomp and circumstance, what comes next? How does the U.S. hold North Korea to its commitment to denuclearize after its broken nuclear promises in the past? NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell has more on the big questions.
[Cuts to video]
ANDREA MITCHELL: The ink now dry with great fanfare. Kim Jong-un committing to the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. But will he deliver? The President suggesting it comes down to trust.
(…)
MITCHELL: How can the U.S. be sure? A key missing ingredient, no requirement that Kim Jong-un disclose how many weapons he has or where they are hidden.
(…)
MITCHELL: What else is missing from the summit document? No definition of denuclearization, no details on verification. Tonight, lawmakers, even some Republicans, say it's too vague.
(…)
MITCHELL: Still, the President says this is just a beginning. That he has accomplished something no other president could, a meeting with a North Korean leader. But did he get enough in return?
(…)
HOLT: As the events unfolded here in Singapore, South Korea was looking on with high stakes in the outcome. And when President Trump announced he's halting military exercises with them, it seems he not only surprised the South Koreans but U.S. forces in the region, too. NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel is in Seoul and has reaction for us tonight.
[Cuts to video]
RICHARD ENGEL: Across South Korea today, hope this historic handshake means peace is finally in the air. President Moon Jae-in, who met Kim Jong-un to help organize this summit, said he was so excited he couldn't sleep last night. But now, focus here is turning to that curveball. President Trump saying while U.S. Troops would remain in South Korea, no more war games.
(…)
ENGEL: But apparently no one told the South Koreans President Trump promised chairman Kim he'd scrap them. A South Korean military official told NBC News, “we need to find out the exact meaning or intention behind his comments.” American forces in South Korea said they, too, received “no updated guidance on execution or cessation of training exercises.”
[Cuts back to live]
Cancelling these war games is seen here as a major concession to North Korea. And this morning, North Korean media's reporting that Kim Jong-un demanded it and President Trump complied. Lester?
(...)
HOLT: One issue that did not receive much discussion during this summit was the brutal reality of life in North Korea. Kim Jong-un's regime has been accused of appalling human rights violations against his own people as well as the mistreatment of American prisoners. NBC's Hallie Jackson has more on what wasn't said at this historic face-to-face.
[Cuts to video]
HALLIE JACKSON: In Singapore, smiles and a stroll from Kim Jong-un but back home, a U.N. report paints a much more grim picture. One of extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, crimes against humanity.
DONALD TRUMP: His country does love him. His people, you see the fervor. They have a great fervor.
JACKSON: But what he calls “fervor,” the U.N. calls indoctrination. Another in a long and disturbing list of human rights abuses Kim's accused of.
TRUMP: It was discussed. It was discussed relatively briefly compared to denuclearization. That's where we started and ended.
JACKSON: President Trump didn't dwell on the negative, instead repeatedly pointing to the positive.
(…)
JACKSON: Kim Jong-un, as you know, has killed family members, has starved his own people, is responsible for the death of Otto Warmbier. Why are you so comfortable calling him very talented?
(…)
JACKSON: But on Capitol Hill, disappointment today that human rights wasn't more of a focus.
CORY BOOKER: There's been a lot left off the table. There are a lot of scant details. That's why this amounts to nothing more, at this point, than a photo-op.
[Cuts back to live]
JACKSON: But there are other lawmakers like Senator Bob Corker, for example, who are instead of picking apart what wasn't said, focus on what was on denuclearization. The President himself suggested he would bring up these human rights abuses with Kim Jong-un down the road, but, of course, Lester, that may not be a conversation Kim wants to have.
(…)
