FOREIGN POLICY/JOE BIDEN/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday [7-1-19] lambasted Donald Trump over recent foreign policy decisions, dismissing the president’s historic trip into North Korean territory over the weekend as a photo-op, while blaming Trump for the deterioration of relations with Iran. Over the weekend, Trump met with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, for the third time in his presidency and became the first sitting American president to step foot in the isolated country. The meeting, which took place in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, was capped off by Trump’s stepping onto the North Korean side of the line in a made-for-TV moment that Democrats immediately denounced as a photo-op, despite both sides agreeing to restart nuclear talks. The New York Times reported afterward that the administration is considering agreeing to a ‘freeze’ of North Korea’s nuclear weapons arsenal as opposed to a more comprehensive denuclearization pact, a notion rejected by national security adviser John Bolton, who was absent from Sunday’s summit.
–Caitlin Oprysko, “Biden dings Trump for his handling of North Korea and Iran,” Politico, July 1, 2019 4:11 pm