Trump’s Unwillingness To Negotiate With North Korea Has Republicans Thinking War May Be A Good Idea

As the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea grows tenser, many Americans, particularly those representing the Republican Party, are beginning to consider a preemptive strike on the country to be the only way to go.

According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, about 46 percent of Republicans support the idea of a preemptive strike on North Korea today while just 42 percent of Republicans say they don’t support it.

The same poll shows an opposing viewpoint as it relates to the Democrats as a mere 16 percent of the Democratic Party would be in favor the idea of the U.S. making a preemptive strike on North Korea, while 77 percent of Democrats would rather not.

Part of that could be the complete lack of confidence. One reason why many in the president’s own Republican party are beginning to like the idea of going after North Korea is that President Donald Trump has not demonstrated that he has the ability or willingness to negotiate peacefully with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Because of this, many in the Republican Party are beginning to think the U.S. needs to initiate military action against North Korea because Trump’s behavior is on the brink of causing North Korea to attack the United States first.

A majority of overall American voters — by almost a 20 percent margin — have lost all confidence in Trump to properly handle the current situation.

The same poll also shows that voters have a tremendous amount of confidence, as it stands, in the rest of the government when it comes to correctly handling the situation with North Korea. The poll found that over 60 percent of voters do have confidence in “top national security and diplomatic officials” to handle the situation.

Our country has been unsuccessfully dealing with North Korea for 25 years, giving billions of dollars & getting nothing. Policy didn't work!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2017

Tim Malloy, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, reiterated this idea when commenting on the poll.

“Voters don’t have confidence in President Donald Trump to handle North Korea, but they’re hoping other members of the Trump team will step up.”

Even though Republicans do favor being aggressive with North Korea, a small plurality does wish the United States would at least attempt to negotiate — 50 percent compared with 46 percent against. Among both parties, that’s pretty consistent. Of all voters, 65 percent say the U.S. should negotiate with North Korea diplomatically, while 29 percent echo the remarks President Trump made to his secretary of state, that the idea of negotiating with the rogue regime to be a waste of time.

…Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2017

On Wednesday, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho threatened the U.S. following statements made by Trump toward North Korea last month during his address at the United Nations.

“With his bellicose and insane statement at the United Nations, Trump, you can say, has lit the wick of a war against us. We need to settle the final score, only with a hail of fire, not words.”

[Featured Image by Evan Vucci/AP Images]