Analysis: President Trump lands in Vietnam for North Korea summit as shadow of Mueller, Cohen loom over him.
President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Feb. 26, 2019, upon his arrival in Vietnam.Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.HANOI, Vietnam — President Donald Trump, who arrived here on Tuesday for a nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is desperate for a win.
It appears that Trump, who touched down on Air Force One at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport shortly before 9 a.m. ET, is likely to be spared the indignity of Mueller's final report being filed while he is abroad, but Michael Cohen, his former lawyer, is set to testify for three days, beginning Tuesday, on Capitol Hill about the president's business dealings, his efforts to influence the 2016 election and his level of compliance with tax laws.
On the international stage, Trump's first meeting with Kim last June in Singapore was derided after he boasted of his success in getting North Korea to stop launching missiles while his own intelligence agencies have warned that Pyongyang has not demonstrated any commitment to giving up its weapons program.The president and Kim are set to have dinner Wednesday before their summit meeting.
"Given Trump's aversion to briefings and policy papers, the Kim summit was always a dubious enterprise with high risks, but Trump’s disastrous last two months weaken his already unsteady hand at the negotiating table," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee."Kim Jong Un knows how to exploit weakness when he sees it."