The United States has tried to be patient with North Korea for 25 years now, but the strategy has led to a country that is just shy of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile, a Republican congressman told Cheddar.
Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger said that after having lunch with President Donald Trump, he is confident that the U.S. is now moving in the right direction.
“When you use diplomacy against an adversary, the only way it really works is with a credible military threat behind it, ”Kinzinger said.
Trump, who’s currently on a multi-nation trip to Asia, has made his intent to denuclearize North Korea clear. According to the White House, this is one of the goals of his trip.
“President Trump will stress the United States’ commitment to the complete, verifiable, and permanent denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and will call on all responsible nations to act now to ensure that the North Korean regime cannot threaten the world with nuclear devastation,” the White House reports.
Kinsinger maintains, however, that while Trump “gets” how to deal with North Korea and previously emphasized the importance of having a strong military threat, the president is now looking to exhaust all viable options before resorting to military action.
With this Indo-Pacific trip, Trump is sending a dual message to both North Korea and the country's allies and adversaries, Kinzinger said.
“To our friends: hey, join us in trying to make sure that North Korea does not get a nuclear weapon; it’s in all of our interests,” he said. “To our adversaries: why don’t you join us to help us ensure this as well.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom is facing a recall election in about two weeks. Newsom was elected governor in 2018 with nearly 62% of the vote after working as lieutenant governor for eight years. However, his popularity took a hit after his handling of Covid-19 pandemic, although the White House is refusing to cite this as the direct reason for the September 14th recall election. There are 46 candidates running to be Newsom's replacement, and some are saying that California could end up electing a republican governor.
Jeremy White, California politics reporter and co-writer of daily California Playbook Newsletter at Politico, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss more about the election and its possible outcomes.
President Joe Biden says the United States will complete it's evacuation of Americans and others from Kabul, despite the attack that killed 12 U.S. service members and many Afghan civilians.
Crypto-enthusiasts are taking to social media to urge regular Afghans to adopt bitcoin in the face of considerable economic uncertainty.
The U.S. economy grew at a 6.6% annual rate last quarter, slightly faster than previously estimated, the government said Thursday in a report that pointed to a sustained consumer-led rebound from the pandemic recession.
The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says it plans to build an undersea tunnel so that massive amounts of treated but still radioactive water can be released into the ocean about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) away from the plant to avoid interference with local fishing.
Two suicide bombers and gunmen have targeted crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport, in the waning days of a massive airlift that has drawn thousands of people seeking to flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose for the first time in five weeks even though the economy and job market have been recovering briskly from the coronavirus pandemic.
Secretary of State Blinken said Wednesday that as many as 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation from Afghanistan.
Kathy Hochul became the first female governor of New York on Tuesday, vowing to bring new energy and urgency to solving immense challenges as she took over an administration criticized for inaction.
U.S military troops flying round the clock have managed their biggest day of airlifts out of Afghanistan by far.
