2 – Trump, McConell, and Kenyatta

Thank you for listening to the second episode of JDRC Politics. We hope you enjoyed it. Please consider subscribing if you liked the podcast.

SHOW NOTES

• • Analysis of  this tweet: “Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely.  Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!”
    • Donald Trump: The ‘locked and loaded’ President
    • Briefly discuss the newfound specificity of the DPRK’s and Donald Trump’s rhetoric
    • Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has a very different ideas about handling North Korea. He is more similar to past presidents (which some Trump supporters viewed as too soft) in that he advocates for forcing North Korea into disarmament talks.
  • Trump must decide the path the US takes to handling North Korea
    • The US could risk a war with North Korea if it decided to destroy their nuclear capabilities
      • Obama-era investigations found this would lead to possibly millions of deaths in South Korea, Japan, and the surrounding era
    • The US could accept North Korea as a nuclear power
      • This could create a form of Cold War tensions
  • China’s response
    • China wants to deescalate tensions by forcing the US to talk with North Korea
    • Trump’s remarks are being criticised by Chinese-state media
    • China has implemented more defenses along the North Korea-China border in the case of military conflict
    • Chinese imports of North Korean resources provide for the majority of its export money

[In other news…]

• • Trump continues public criticism of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
    • Trump criticizes him for failing to create progress on health care
    • McConnell has avoided a public conflict with Trump, except for his remarks at a recent event in Kentucky
    • Donald Trump is messing with the wrong man if he wants a legislative win
    • Trump’s Twitter Fury at McConnell Risks Alienating a Key Ally

Kenya Story

• http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/11/africa/kenya-elections/index.html
• Despite opposition party claims, Kenyan election is found to be free

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