Donald Trump told us repeatedly during the campaign that he planned to be as unpredictable as possible. Hey, it worked for him in business, and it works for Putin, so why not?
North Korea is why not. Imagine that you are Kim Jong-un, and you have just heard the “fire and fury” speech. What do you make of it? Do you completely blow it off as an obvious bluff, and continue with your missile program? Do you take it seriously, and start preparing in earnest for a nuclear war? Or do you assume that Trump isn’t really in charge, and listen only to Mattis, Tillerson, and McMaster?
It’s hard to know the correct answer to that question, and a miscalculation here could result in an absolute calamity for the entire world.
Don’t say I didn’t tell you so.