Now we know the answer to the question about a bad deal or no deal–it’s both!
The two leaders signed a document that is in the form of an agreement. Given that it contains no legally enforceable commitments binding either party, it might as well be no deal at all. In exchange for Kim’s signature on this vacuous document, Trump agreed to stop our joint military exercises with South Korea. And, of course, the whole exercise gave Kim more legitimacy and weakened the world’s resolve to maintain sanctions, so, to the extent that there is any kind of a deal, it’s a bad one.
It could obviously be worse–at least there’s no war. However, it clears the deck for the one Trump really wants with Iran.
What really jumps out at you is Trump’s apparent affection for the young dictator, which stands in stark contrast to his relationships with the G7 leaders. Maybe my prediction about the S6 won’t be satire, after all.