Too fiery, too furious: The president's comments to North Korea incite rather than deter

Donald Trump's comments from behind a conference table at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, put the world, and more notably their intended target -- North Korea -- on high alert Tuesday night.

The president cautioned the nuclear-capable nation that if it continues to threaten the U.S., it would be met with "fire and fury like the world has never seen."

North Korea promptly responded by saying its army was actively considering a preemptive strike against Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific that is also home to a U.S. Air Force base.

Respectfully, Mr. President, this is not what we signed up for.

Replace and repeal Obamacare, or don't.

Stamp out voter fraud and illegal immigration, or don't.

Reform the tax policy such that American-owned businesses will flock home, bringing with them their mighty industrial factories and put Americans back to work so that we can once again export more than we import, own nice cars and big fancy houses with white picket fences, have 3.4 children and a dog.

Make America great again. Or don't.

But do not, sir, bluster your way into a nuclear war for the sake of being able to stoke the fires of a -- by your own political party's admission -- dwindling support base, with sabre rattling.

Sen. John McCain quickly spoke out against the president's "rhetoric" by saying he had long ago given up trying to interpret what Trump says.

But perhaps McCain, who recently had brain surgery to remove a tumor behind his eye and is dealing with a still-fresh brain cancer diagnosis, made the most sense with his follow-up comment.

"That kind of rhetoric, I'm not sure how it helps."

Neither are we.

Published in Editorials on August 8, 2017 10:22 PM