Al Gore: Trump ‘Can’t Be Blamed’ For ‘Inherited’ North Korea Crisis
- 7 years ago
Al Gore has somewhat defended President Trump’s recent tough talk about North Korea, saying he “can’t be blamed for all this.”
Al Gore has somewhat defended President Trump’s recent tough talk about North Korea, saying he “can’t be blamed for all this.”
As the former vice president told Newsweek, “I think it’s only fair to point out he inherited this crisis. The previous three presidents were not able to find an adequate solution [to the North Korea crisis], so he can’t be blamed for all this.”
Trump echoed a similar thought in late July, saying during a press briefing, “We have some interesting situations that we’ll handle. North Korea, Middle East, lots of problems that we inherited from previous administrations but we’ll take care of them. We’ll take care of them very well.”
The president had also previously indicated an end to “the era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime.”
Based on this and other similar comments made by Trump’s allies, a recent Slate column states, “It makes sense that Trump’s team is blaming its predecessor: Obama’s efforts to stop North Korea’s nuclear advancement obviously didn’t work.”
However, it goes on to explain, “By and large, the Obama policy was to refuse to offer incentives to North Korea to return to the negotiating table. This was meant to avoid the cycle that characterized much of the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush years, under which North Korea would continually ramp up the pressure, only to offer concessions in exchange for aid.”
Nevertheless, Gore qualified his partial defense of Trump, saying, “...his intemperate comments on North Korea were really unwise.”
The former vice president continued, “He has a secretary of defense and national security adviser, both of whom are immensely respected. I hope he will listen to them, and I hope their cooler heads will prevail.”
Despite the backlash over his threat of “fire and fury” towards North Korea, Trump has refused to back down, telling the media Thursday, “If anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough, and we’re backed by 100 percent by our military. We’re backed by everybody.”
Al Gore has somewhat defended President Trump’s recent tough talk about North Korea, saying he “can’t be blamed for all this.”
As the former vice president told Newsweek, “I think it’s only fair to point out he inherited this crisis. The previous three presidents were not able to find an adequate solution [to the North Korea crisis], so he can’t be blamed for all this.”
Trump echoed a similar thought in late July, saying during a press briefing, “We have some interesting situations that we’ll handle. North Korea, Middle East, lots of problems that we inherited from previous administrations but we’ll take care of them. We’ll take care of them very well.”
The president had also previously indicated an end to “the era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime.”
Based on this and other similar comments made by Trump’s allies, a recent Slate column states, “It makes sense that Trump’s team is blaming its predecessor: Obama’s efforts to stop North Korea’s nuclear advancement obviously didn’t work.”
However, it goes on to explain, “By and large, the Obama policy was to refuse to offer incentives to North Korea to return to the negotiating table. This was meant to avoid the cycle that characterized much of the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush years, under which North Korea would continually ramp up the pressure, only to offer concessions in exchange for aid.”
Nevertheless, Gore qualified his partial defense of Trump, saying, “...his intemperate comments on North Korea were really unwise.”
The former vice president continued, “He has a secretary of defense and national security adviser, both of whom are immensely respected. I hope he will listen to them, and I hope their cooler heads will prevail.”
Despite the backlash over his threat of “fire and fury” towards North Korea, Trump has refused to back down, telling the media Thursday, “If anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough, and we’re backed by 100 percent by our military. We’re backed by everybody.”