THE KOREAN FARCE : ACT 2

Trump came back from his Singapore summit with Kim Jung-Un with nothing to show for, other than having given the North Korean leader a pass to "normal". Since then, the Korean tomcat sits puring, observing, while the American president is in his usual incoherent overdrive on all fronts. His secretary of State was sent on some errand to Pyongyang and is on his way back with nothing achieved. All this was predicted but, in the mad president's court, truth and professionalism are unwelcome guests. Given that the bluff will be hard to disguise, one could hope for a sobering regrouping. Not with this White House. Next week will lead up to another summit, with President Putin, which will be a sort of repeat of the Canossa formula wherein the Holy Emperor Henry IV made his submission to Pope Gregory VII.  Likewise Putin will receive Trump's penance for...for what? Nobody knows the roots of the Freudian slips the American president continues making when confronted with the name or the presence pf Putin.

Trump will otherwise be busy, giving the Supreme Court the kiss of death, snubbing NATO in Brussels and receiving the cold shoulder in London. All those events will lead to the Helsinki summit, not a great omen since Finlandization stands for all that the Russian side wants, and for all that Western Europe fears.  Putin and his counselors are highly informed, skilled and professional. They will have in front of them a team of bible freaks, lazy truth haters and a historical tabula rasa. To leave Trump alone with Putin is playing with more than fire. It is a one-way ticket to disaster. The American ambassador to Russia, who is remarkable for once, must wish this nightmare to pass.

It has been said may times, here and by others, that in the Trumpisphere there is always room for worse to come. Trump is on a quasi-permanent campaign trip in his heartland wherein he can be himself, killing vocabulary, steering the presidency away from the high ground and giving his lamentable base an overdose of vitriol, trade wars, immigration dirt, personal attacks, hate and lies. He has given up on culture, responsibility, reliability and rules over this 40% of Americans who he feeds with his home-made spam. He kisses the flag but in reality the flagpole stands empty in the wind and the clanking sound is all there is.

In Brussels, the Europeans will be polite even if he chooses not to be. Anyway, all attention will be with the World Cup. In London an inflated Trump balloon is readied for shaming the unwelcome visitor.  Her Gracious Majesty will certainly teach the real estate joker some manners. Maybe he will even leave his red tie home and close the buttons of his jacket for once. If only he could also close his mouth.