FOREIGN POLICY/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The way President Donald Trump sees it, why go for a solid single when you can swing for a home run? Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is only the latest example of the president’s go-big strategy. From tax reform to international trade to foreign policy, Trump has pursued a high-risk, high-reward approach that advisers say can help produce results on longstanding problems — and that critics warn could trigger dangerous repercussions all the way from a trade war to global conflict. Drawn to big moments and bigger headlines, Trump views the North Korea summit as a legacy-maker for him, believing that the combustible combination of his bombast and charm already has led to warmer relations between North and South. As he welcomed home three Americans who had been detained in North Korea, Trump early Thursday used a televised, middle-of-the-night ceremony to play up both his statecraft and stagecraft…Trump told one confidant that he now believes a deal with North Korea, rather than in the Middle East, could be his historic victory. White House officials also believe that a triumph on the Korean Peninsula — something that has eluded the United States for generations — could bolster Trump’s approval ratings, help inoculate him against the investigations swirling around him and maybe even trickle down to help Republicans in this fall’s midterm elections.”
-Catherine Lucey, Jonathan Lemire and Ken Thomas, “Trump’s high-risk doctrine? Swing for the bleacher seats,” The Associated Press, May 10, 2018