NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump has actively cultivated an air of suspense around his upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but his decision last week to add another dose of reality-TV drama by teasing the release of three Americans currently being detained by the regime is raising concerns among former US diplomats. Trump and his allies outside the government sought to fan heightened expectations surrounding the possibility of their release last week — casting the potential development as evidence of the President’s negotiating prowess ahead of a sit-down with Kim. But experts and even some administration aides are worried the celebration may be premature and could send the wrong signals to Pyongyang or even jeopardize the prisoner’s release…Trump and Rudy Giuliani, a member of Trump’s legal team but not himself an employee of the government, both seemed to get out ahead of the White House and the State Department by hinting an announcement could be coming soon. Trump tweeted about the Americans last Wednesday evening with instructions to ‘stay tuned.'”
-Zachary Cohen and Kevin Liptak, “Trump hinting at release of detained Americans alarms former diplomats,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, May 7, 2018 5:41 pm