Trump-Kim Summit

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, talks between President Trump and Chairman Kim in Singapore, as we all know, concluded yesterday. Certainly, we are all heartened to see the two leaders engage in a dialogue. We feel much better when both President Trump and Chairman Kim are talking rather than trading insults and military threats. We all want this diplomacy to succeed.

But now that the dust is settling after the Singapore summit, three things are clear. No. 1, Chairman Kim achieved far more than President Trump did. No. 2, our adversaries, Russia and China, have gained while our allies, like South Korea and Japan, have lost footing and some degree of faith in America's reliability. No. 3, the summit was much more show than substance--what the Texans call ``all cattle and no hat.''

Let me elaborate. In past agreements with North Korea, the United States won far stronger language on denuclearization, and we won specific measures to ensure that North Korea was taking steps in that direction. Of course, even with the stronger language, the North Korean regime repeatedly backtracked from previous American-led agreements.

The joint statement in Singapore includes none of the concrete details that could make an ambitious goal like ``complete denuclearization'' close to meaningful. Chairman Kim did not even mention his ambiguous comment to denuclearize when he returned home to North Korea. It was absent in all the North Korean press. Often you can tell how a leader feels from what they tell their people, not what they say publicly to the world. In this case, denuclearization was not even mentioned.

Still, President Trump tweeted this morning ``there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.'' What planet is the President on? Saying it doesn't make it so. North Korea still has nuclear weapons. It still has ICBMs. It still has the United States in danger. Somehow, President Trump thinks that when he says something, it becomes reality--if it were only that easy, only that simple. That is what stood in the way of making this meeting more meaningful.

It is not show. It is not verbiage. It is action. President Trump, in his actions, did things that President Kim wanted. I don't know what President Kim has done that we want, other than show up, which was a benefit for him.

President Trump agreed to freeze joint military exercises with South Korea, and he called them ``provocations''--right out of the North Korean propaganda playbook--without the knowledge of South Korea or our own military. I guarantee that our military men and women were squirming when President Trump called our joint military exercises ``provocations.''

These exercises and others that the military conduct around the world are designed to ensure that our servicemembers are fully trained and ready for action. They are not a provocation, President Trump.

Adopting the North Korean view on American military exercises, which President Trump did, is nothing short of a public relations coup for Chairman Kim. It seems that President Trump didn't even think it through or consult with anybody. You cannot do this stuff on the fly. Saying that the danger from North Korea is over doesn't make it so. Saying that these are provocations makes things worse. You cannot do it on the fly. You need serious thought because it has consequences. If Chairman Kim walked away from these negotiations thinking that it is easy to deal with President Trump, Kim might think: I get what I want, and I don't have to give him anything. That doesn't bode well for the future.

In the final tabulation, after all the pomp and circumstance has faded, it seems clear that Chairman Kim walked away the victor, unfortunately. What President Trump achieved on behalf of the United States is unclear and difficult to certify. What Chairman Kim achieved for North Korea is tangible and lasting.

No doubt, our Republican friends would be up in arms if a Democratic President walked away from a summit with so little to show for it. But, of course, while we haven't heard full-throated praise from our Republican side--their reactions have been kind of lukewarm--it is not close to the criticism they launched at President Obama in similar situations.

In the weeks and months ahead, President Trump and his team need to focus on securing real and enduring concessions from the North Koreans on plutonium and uranium enrichment, on the destruction of nuclear infrastructure, on an ``anywhere, anytime'' inspections regime, and the unambiguous end of missile testing.

These are the things that make a strong nuclear agreement. Unfortunately, the Singapore summit produced none of them and talked about none of them. We hope that in the future that changes for the safety of America, but, again, the emphasis on showmanship as opposed to substance will not serve America or the prospects for peace well in the long run.

On one final point, congressional oversight and involvement is critical to this process. Secretary Pompeo needs to make clear what the process moving forward includes and what, if any, additional agreements were made in Singapore. Congress needs to learn the terms for any sanctions relief, whether U.S. troop presence in Korea was discussed and whether any agreement will include a halt to North Korea's key missile programs.

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