President Trump has hinted at deconstructing a trade deal with South Korea.  Geopolitical “experts” clutch their pearls at the possibility of President Trump targeting S-Korea at the same time that North Korea threatens the region.

WASHINGTON – President Trump confirmed Saturday that he was talking with advisers amid reports that he had instructed aides to prepare to withdraw the U.S. from its free trade agreement with South Korea.
“I am. It’s very much on my mind,” Trump told a reporter covering his day trip to Texas and Louisiana when asked if he was talking to advisers and would do something in the coming week. (more)

Media pundits join in deep sighs of concern. Oh noes, he didn’t..
CTH laughs.
People need to get their mind right with the entire principle behind ‘America-First’ and looking out for America’s best interests.  It wasn’t so long ago that South Korea was snarking back at POTUS Trump, the United States and were dismissive about paying for THAAD missile defenses etc.

Given the nature of the less than appreciative prior position by Moon Jae-in, what better time is there to renegotiate a trade deal with South Korea than the exact moment when South Korea is in a heightened state of vulnerability?
Do you really think President Trump is going to give up moments when U.S. transactional leverage is the highest?  Just to keep polite diplomatic appearances?  Where was the national security foresight of  Moon Jae-in when he was snarkily dismissing the security offered by the Trump administration?
This fundamental disconnect on when leverage is greatest, and when to use it, is why people continually miss President Trump’s instinctual capability as an apex predator.  This fundamental truism also highlights the ridiculous nature of those who use historic prisms to view a modern president who is staunchly ‘Ameria-First’.
If you want us on your team, we don’t arrive without terms for our participation.  Period.
Is it nice to leverage South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in when he’s at his most vulnerable? Probably not.  Are we concerned about ‘nice’ given the nature of the recent lack of appreciation?  Not-so-much.   Is it brutal to leverage a better U.S. trade outcome against the backdrop of the current national security situation in Southeast Asia?  Possibly.  So what?
Additionally, when the defender of liberty shows his Apex Predator tendencies, there’s another benefit….
….Do you think NATO and European Allies are not paying attention to what happens when Moon Jae-in takes President Trump’s U.S. defense, protection and financial interests for granted, meanwhile there’s a carnivorous ‘bear’ on their own doorstep?
Think about it as more trade deals are later negotiated.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/904309527381716992


https://twitter.com/JeffreyGoldberg/status/904313152162156544


No better time to strike a better trade deal folks.  Leverage, we have the best leverage.  No better time.

 

 
 

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