Retired Rear Adm. John Kirby, a military and diplomatic analyst for CNN, called the moment "striking."
 "They can see a propaganda value here and this is basically them showing the level of deference and respect that Trump has paid to them and to their military leaders," Kirby told CNN's Poppy Harlow on "CNN Newsroom."

"It was an inappropriate for him to do from a protocol perspective, but now he's played right into the North's propaganda about their legitimacy on the world stage."

 Kirby said the appropriate thing for Trump to do in that situation would have been to nod his head and shake the general's hand.
 "(Trump's) the commander in chief. He doesn't even salute his own generals. They salute him. That's the way it works. You don't certainly don't do it with leaders of foreign military and you most certainly don't do it with the leaders of foreign militaries of an adversary nation."

Last edited by Spunky (6/14/2018 5:41 pm)