This letter is regarding President Donald Trump’s remarks after North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s denials that he had anything to do with, nor even knew about, the brutal mistreatment resulting in the death of American student Otto Warmbier while in the custody of his country (March 2, “Otto Warmbier’s Family Rebukes Trump’s Defense of Kim Jong Un”).
Relations between nations can be messy and, no doubt, often involve distasteful trade-offs. But, apparently, the only thing any heinous strongman has to do is deny any knowledge of or responsibility for criminal actions taking place by their regime and he is automatically believed and granted absolution by the sitting president.
A new and extremely low bar, indeed, and I’m sure that the lesson has been well learned by every despot on the planet.
DAVID WASSEL
White Oak
