It's this kind of stuff - today's edition

In yesterday's post with this same title - it seems there's content for them on a daily basis now; SAD! - we looked at a couple of train-wreck answers the Very Stable Genius gave to reporters, one of which was about something Putin had said in their exchange.

Here's another cringe-inducing moment from the Putin pow-wow:

Trump had met with Putin Friday where he was pressed by journalists on whether he would tell Russia not to interfere in U.S. elections.

“Yes, of course, I will. Don’t meddle in the election, please. Don’t meddle in the election,” Trump said, pointing to Putin and flashing a grin.

Putin appeared to chuckle in response.

The exchange drew sharp criticism from those who have accused Trump of being too friendly with Putin.

Now, let's look at his one-on-one with Xi, per Gordon Chang at the Daily Beast:

The United States will resume sales of products to Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer, President Donald Trump said in his post-G20 press conference Saturday in Osaka.

The action appears to be a surrender to publicly issued Chinese demands.

Effective May 16, the U.S. Commerce Department added Huawei, the world’s largest telecom-equipment manufacturer, to its Entity List. As a result, no American company, without prior approval from the Bureau of Industry and Security, may sell or license to Huawei products and technology covered by the U.S. Export Administration Regulations.

In recent weeks, Beijing had demanded the Trump administration withdraw the designation. On Thursday, for instance, the Wall Street Journal reported that Huawei’s removal was one of China’s three main preconditions to a trade deal. The other two demands were the lifting of tariffs Trump had imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and the end to Washington’s efforts to get China to buy U.S. goods in excess of what was agreed in December 2018.

American companies had begun complying with the Entity List prohibition, but Intel, Qualcomm, and other chip suppliers have lobbied the Trump administration to ease the ban on Huawei, which American officials believe poses a threat to American national security. Washington, to inhibit Chinese spying, is trying to persuade American allies to not install Huawei equipment in soon-to-be-built 5G telecommunications networks.

Trump, however, undercut these efforts Saturday by making it appear that his Huawei campaign was merely a tactic to gain an advantage in the so-called “trade war” with China.

Real nice.

And, as you've no doubt heard, after G-20 he took 20 steps onto North Korean soil, shook Kim Jong-un's hand and invited him to the White House. That would be the Kim Jong-un who had his half brother murdered with VX nerve agent, who forced his uncle to watch the uncle's friends ripped apart by anti-aircraft gunfire - those executed were not in planes; they were standing on the ground - at close enough range that their blood splashed on him , who has resumed missile testing since the collapse of the Hanoi summit.

Cindy Warmbier, mother of Otto, who was returned to the United States comatose and who then died, is not impressed by this patty-cake.


The sum total of this does not paint a picture of a successful overseas tour. Anybody who's not a cult follower is unsettled today.