The top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee on Monday implored President Donald Trump to prove he has an effective policy in mind on North Korea.
“The Trump administration has not presented to the Congress a coherent policy in regards to North Korea,” Cardin said on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.”
Over the weekend, North Korea trotted out a slew of missiles in a parade before firing one off, which US Pacific Command said blew up almost immediately after launch. Trump has spoken about the North Korean nuclear weapons program repeatedly, and in comments on the campaign trail, tweets and recent interviews, Trump has shifted his language on how, or if, China could rein in North Korean nuclear weapons and missile development.
Vice President Mike Pence visited South Korea and went to the Demilitarized Zone separating the North and South Korea on Monday, telling CNN that the Trump administration would “abandon the failed policy of strategic patience.”
Trump has said he doesn’t want to be predictable in the face of global threats. Cardin, however, said Trump could avoid showing his hand while still informing the public about what was happening and assuring everyone he knew what he was talking about.
“I’m not asking the President to telegraph his actions to the North Koreans,” Cardin said. “I am asking him to confer with us, the Congress of the United States, so that we’re all together on this. Our concern is that we don’t know if he knows what his policy is in regards to North Korea.”
Questions about Trump’s policy on dealing with North Korea aren’t only coming from Democrats.
In an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper on Sunday, Rep. Mia Love, a Republican from Utah, likewise said she did not know the Trump administration’s strategy to deal with the North Korean nuclear issue and said Trump should inform Congress.