It looks like laying off social media was not one of President Donald Trump’s New Year’s resolutions. It’s a new year, but the same controversies with the United States’ president, who is wrapped up in yet another Twitter spat with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
One of the most notable moments of Trump’s long-running Twitter war with the North Korean leader was when Jong Un called Trump a ‘dotard,’ which led to the president calling Jong Un ‘short and fat.’ While insults from both leaders have tended toward the immature, the latest update to this saga has been an argument over nuclear buttons.
Jong Un made a statement that he has a nuclear button on his desk that he can press at any time. Trump responded via Twitter Jan. 2, saying that he has a “bigger more powerful” button, and that his “works.”
My initial response to the tweet wasn’t fear, it was laughter, as sadistic as that seems. I laughed because this statement was so ridiculous and so typical of the president, but this doesn’t mean that the nuclear crisis isn’t an extremely critical issue. The subject they are talking about will impact billions of lives, and could even bring about the end of the world.
I’ve written about how Trump’s impulsivity on Twitter is not at all comforting. It’s the same story here. To me, if anything, it’s inciting conflict, which is the last thing this nation needs. But Trump’s response was impulsive, and seemingly meant to cause drama.
Trump’s Twitter language is comparable to something that a Kardashian would say. That is, petty, uneducated and outrageous. The difference? The Kardashians are celebrities whose jobs are to create buzz to maintain popularity. Trump is the president.
This makes his Twitter rants all the more humiliating. When the president’s speeches and tweets can be compared to TMZ-style drama, there’s something seriously wrong.
When Trump entered office, I had some hope that he would shed his celebrity lifestyle and become more presidential.
One year later, that hasn’t happened. He’s acting the same way he always has. It’s almost stunning that his attitude hasn’t changed in the slightest.
Moreover, Trump’s words should not represent how any president should respond to this situation. His response to Jong Un was to claim his button was “bigger,” a tactic most third graders use. While most leaders would probably choose not to respond, the ones who would, would be inclined to craft a well-articulated, factual response, perhaps disclosing statistics about our nuclear stockpile and issuing a statement urging the North Korean government to cease making threats.
I remember back in elementary school when there was a bully who frequently teased me, and I used to get angry and strike back. When I would to tell my mom, she would say getting a rise out of you is just what this bully wanted. As long as I responded, the bully would continue to tease me.
The president’s relationship with Jong Un is strikingly similar. The North Korean government is pushing out statements just to get a rise out of us. It would appear they want to keep doing this in an attempt to get the president or some other representative to say something embarrassing and regrettable. The president just gave North Korea exactly what it wanted: a petty response.
The point is to not stoop to their level. The president shouldn’t make it appear as if Jong Un has gotten under his skin. Diplomacy has never silenced North Korea, but at this current moment our most viable option is to be diplomatic.
President “Stable Genius” is not leading us to peace with North Korea anytime soon. Hopefully he can figure out how diplomacy and international relations work, but I have my doubts.
