* Trump and Kim arguably deserve each other. The rest of the world deserves better.
* Not that we didn’t know optics was a major part of Trump’s summit “preparation,” but Larry Kudlow underscored that fraught reality when he acknowledged that the president was using the Group of 7 summit for North Korean signal-sending. Apparently counterproductive signals sent to fellow “allies” was not an issue.
Kudlow, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said Trump was “not going to let a Canadian prime minister push him around on the eve of this ( NOKO summit).” That’s why Trump didn’t sign off on the joint communiqué that formally wraps up a summit. It would have made him look weak was the rationale.
* “Fellow Republicans, this is not who we are. This cannot be our party.” That statement was from Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona. Too bad the few GOPsters, such as Flake, who speak out against Trump and his egomaniacal priorities are leaving public office. Real guts–and real “America First” values–are obviously not enough for the sycophantic, enabling cowards who maintain their compromised careers and don’t want to get “primaried” by Trump’s deplorable base.
* When it comes to illegal border crossings and the separation of children, it’s more than the usual political partisans who are weighing in against the Trump Administration. Exhibit A: the United Nations. “The use of immigration detention and family separation as a deterrent runs counter to human rights standards and principles,” pointedly noted–OK, scolded–Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. For the record, Nikki Haley was not pleased.
* “F*** Trump.” That was Robert DeNiro at the recent Tony Awards. Yes, it’s come to that. We get it. It’s almost too tempting to resist. It’s a high-profile, friendly forum. But it’s not helpful. No more than Michelle Wolf and Samantha Bee. It’s another unsettling, embarrassing reminder that we used to be better than this. This is what a devolving society looks like.