Once again President Donald Trump has done the unprecedented – and the unacceptable. The White House Military Office, which reports to the president, has created and minted a commemorative coin memorializing Trump’s upcoming North Korea nuclear talks. This literally has never happened before.
Worse, the coin places the North Korean dictator responsible for the slaughter of countless of his own citizens, including his family members, on equal footing as the President of the United States. It even refers to Kim Jong-un as “Supreme Leader.”
And while that may be his official title, to have it appear on what presumably will become a part of U.S. history is being denounced by many. Others are furious their tax dollars are paying for this.
It is not known how much the entire production cost taxpayers. There were reportedly 250 minted.
The existence of the coin was first reported on by NBC’s Peter Alexander:
CNN’s Jim Acosta also tweeted it out:
The coin is just one more piece of evidence team Trump is signaling to Kim that at any cost they want a “win,” and the terms are unimportant.
Vox’s Matthew Yglesias summed up his reaction in two short words:
ThinkProgress’ Ian Millhiser:
Five months ago Trump came under fire for changing the Presidential challenge coin. He literally replaced the national motto, “E Pluribus Unum,” with his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
More responses to the U.S./North Korea coin: