Related: South Korea's Moon heads for Trump talks to try to keep summit on track

The commemorative piece was minted by the White House Military Office, which typically designs coins for Trump’s trips abroad, before an expected summit between the two leaders in Singapore on 12 June. The coin describes the meeting as “peace talks”, in English and Korean.

It is only a small element of America’s recent rapprochement with North Korea but it appeared to gain a currency all its own on social media.

It would be the first summit between a sitting US president and the leader of North Korea, if the meeting happens at all. Trump has said repeatedly he might pull out, and that scenario became more likely last week as the two governments traded heated words.

Many observers were worried the coin might send the wrong message.

Robert E Kelly

✔

@Robert_E_Kelly

9h

Are you kidding me?! This is just gross. Whose personality cult exactly is this summit legitimizing? This is un-American. Can’t imagine what Fox would say if any other POTUS did this. Wow. Just wow.

The Kim family has long constructed an elaborate cult of personality around its male members, and loyal Workers’ party members often wear a badge with portraits of the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung, and his son Kim Jong-il. Similar portraits hang in homes and schools.

Tom Nichols

✔

@RadioFreeTom

Not only is this premature, but it's exactly the sort of legitimacy Kim Jong Un was hoping for out of this dumpster fire of an idea. https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/998619627700805633 …

1:56 PM - May 21, 2018

Trump has reportedly been focusing on the pageantry of the summit rather than immersing himself in detailed briefings on the complex issue of North Korea’s nuclear program. He has been particularly interested in suspense-filled announcements that could come out of the meeting, according to the Associated Press.

The coin announces Kim’s title as “supreme leader”, despite there being no official position with that name in North Korea. Kim is usually referred to as chairman of the state affairs commission in state media, while he is also chairman of the ruling party.

I think the coin does a great job of capturing Trump's waddle.

7:21 PM - May 21, 2018

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/weird-odd-a-dumpster-fire-trumps-north-korea-summit-coin-ridiculed/ar-AAxCubL

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3983561&forum_id=2#36103020)

As the Singapore meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un draws near, the president and his allies are growing increasingly anxious about how he can score a win on the world stage. While Trump has not suggested he wants to back out, he has struggled to define his objectives for the historic sit-down, and last week he drew fresh criticism from his foreign foil.

"I think that Trump imagined he would go into this meeting and be able to have a historic breakthrough with a deal, but it's clear he's starting to realize it won't be as easy as he imagined," said Jean Lee, director of the North Korea program at the Woodrow Wilson Center and a former Associated Press bureau chief in Pyongyang.

Trump, who has pitched himself as the ultimate negotiator, has focused on ambitious deals as president but has struggled with the fine print. He just hit the pause button on his threatened trade war with China, announcing an agreement to reduce America's trade deficit with China — but few details. He recently withdrew the U.S. from the international Iran-nuclear deal — without outlining a path forward with his allies. And his Middle East peace plan, which he deputized his son-in-law to lead, is months overdue and facing a more skeptical audience than ever.

Supporters stress that sometimes Trump's ambitious efforts do pay off, as with the massive tax cut bill he signed into law late last year.

Going into the North Korea meeting, senior administration officials say, the president has been almost singularly focused on the pageantry of the summit —including the suspenseful roll-out of details. He has not been deeply engaged in briefing materials on North Korea's nuclear program, said three people with knowledge of the White House efforts. They were not authorized to speak publicly.

Scott Snyder, director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council of Foreign Relations, said there's a risk that "the ceremony and the historic nature of the meeting be allowed to overshadow the deliverables."

Driven by gut instinct, Trump rarely dives deep as he prepares to meet with foreign counterparts. For the North Korea meeting, insiders say, he is motivated by the idea of scoring a historic deal and is tickled by suggestions he could win a Nobel Peace Prize — especially since Barack Obama won the honor early in his presidency. Trump has maintained publicly that his goal is to see the Korean Peninsula denuclearized, and the North has agreed to put its nuclear program on the negotiating table as a condition for the talks. But the two sides are still miles apart on defining what might be mutually acceptable.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3983561&forum_id=2#36103050)

And little Noah "isn't good at math."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3983561&forum_id=2#36116993)

Obviously. He lives for his own veneration. Everything else is secondary.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3983561&forum_id=2#36103071)

The sources seem consistent with his personality. He likes praise and likes to be the center of attention. This isnt news.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3983561&forum_id=2#36105385)

Lol. Uh yes?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3983561&forum_id=2#36103265)

Not only is this premature, but it's exactly the sort of legitimacy Kim Jong Un was hoping for out of this dumpster fire of an idea. https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/998619627700805633 …

Yes, being the head of a nuclear armed state with like 1 million active duty troops is totally illegitimate until like a President meets with you or something. Libs, why do you hate America? We can't make peace and we can't make war without you whinging about it.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3983561&forum_id=2#36103287)

"Sure, he ended the Korean War, but THAT COIN IS AN ABOMINATION!"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3983561&forum_id=2#36103297)

Until then.....

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3983561&forum_id=2#36105350)