Donald Trump’s Moment of Glory

Donald Trump has put himself in the history books, this time for a good reason.

After Jan. 20, 2017, the day Donald Trump took office as the 45th president of the United States, we soon realized that a lot of things would change in the so-called leading country of the so-called free world — at least politically, because the newly-elected president’s attitude, his extravagance and even personal fantasies, came as no surprise. Even during the campaign there were several demonstrations of his behavioral imbalance. After his victory in the elections — which many, myself included, considered a mirage — the discomfort, the fear of what would come next, the aversion toward this personality and even the distrust regarding his sanity only increased.

Everything has happened. A series of dismissals from the White House staff; suspicions of Russian involvement in the election; signed laws that, due to lack of support, could not, thankfully, be put into practice; a clear departure from the values that united Europe and the United States; a clear lack of respect for other heads of state; “tweets” only comparable to those of Bruno de Carvalho*; the denial of global warming; and finally, more worrying, an escalation of mutual threats that made a serious military crisis with North Korea seem likely.

Suddenly, the storm seemed to calm and, truth be told, with the summit held with Kim Jong Un, Trump has attained his highest moment of glory so far. In fact, the mere occurrence of the summit with the presence of both men is unmistakably historic. On the other hand, besides this “small” detail, this summit was doubly successful for a reason that, for many, seems to have gone completely unnoticed. The truth is such summits are, diplomatically speaking, the last resort for possible pacification. There were two possibilities. The summit would either result in a complete intensification of the problem from which there would be no return; or, as seems to have happened, the “situation” would apparently turn out well and there would be light at the end of the tunnel. Therefore, the apparent success of this joint initiative and the sympathy expressed by the two leaders was sudden, but praiseworthy, deserving of the compliments sent from one side to the other.

Whether these compliments are genuine or not, and though the apparent reconciliation can still be reversed due to the erratic characters of both men and end up as nothing, with these small advances, Trump, for now, has made the history books with good reason. You may not like him, but if he leaves the resolution of the eternal problem of North Korea as his legacy, then, strangely enough, the world will still have to thank him. It does not change or hide anything that he has done wrong so far. But it will be a well-deserved thanks. Clarice Lispector said, “I want the impossible. I want the unexpected. ” Let’s hope, for everyone’s sake, that Trump and Kim also want the same thing.

Editor’s note: Bruno de Carvalho is president of Sporting CP, a Portuguese football club, who publically criticized members of the team on social media.