Trump is apparently planning to wing it in his big meeting with Kim Jong Un

Trump and Bolton.
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

Rather than studiously prepare for a summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, President Trump apparently plans to fake it till he makes it.

The upcoming summit is unprecedented, so top advisers are flying somewhat blind when it comes to preparing for a Trump-Kim sit-down. But Politico reports that Trump hasn't even been consulting with his national security team to strategize, skipping planning meetings and preferring improvisation over careful preparation.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Additionally, National Security Adviser John Bolton has reportedly irritated Trump recently, leading the president to leave him out of a meeting with a North Korean official who visited Washington last week. Officials say it's still unclear what role Bolton will play when he attends the summit, with one saying it's "shocking" how much is still unplanned.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway insisted that Trump is working hard "in many different ways for many different major summits." But a Bush administration official who was assigned to foreign policy in Asia had a different view, saying experts worry the president "is going to wing this summit." Read more at Politico.

Explore More
Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.