"The settlement of the [North Korean] problem, which has now been achieved is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all [the world] may find peace. This morning I had another talk with Kim and here is the paper which bears his name upon it as well as mine . . . for the second time in our history, an [American President returns] bringing peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time . . . Go home and get a nice quiet sleep."

At press time one well-known survey of American public opinion indicated that 41 percent of Americans give Donald Trump "the benefit of the doubt" on his performance at the Singapore Summit Meeting with Kim Jong-il, believing he "made reasonable compromises at the summit. More than a third of respondents believed, "he gave away too much to the North Korean leader." The rest, surprise, claimed they didn't know.

Democrats and Republicans split along predictable lines, with Republicans overwhelmingly expressing favorable opinions of Trump's performance; Democrats overwhelmingly convinced "he gave away too much.

Independents voters were split down the middle.

So, what are we to think of Trump as "diplomat?" There is no evidence whatsoever to indicate his early taunting of "Little Rocket Man" and his threats to rain nuclear fire down on North Korea did anything at all to intimidate Kim, much less promote confidence in the sanity of the President here, there, or among our closest allies.

Nor did Trump come away from Singapore with anything in hand but promises from a ruthless war criminal of a dictator excelled statistically as a con man and liar only by the President himself.

In the belligerent tradition of Trump's unilateral and unpopular dismantling of the Paris Climate Accords, his trashing of our multilateral trade agreements in the Pacific, his threats to destroy NAFTA, his sowing of discontent and doubt about our commitment to NATO, Trump managed to alienate our G-7 partners in general, and the leaders of Canada, Great Britain and France in particular.

Indeed, as George Packer wrote in The New Yorker, "In four days, between Quebec and Singapore, Trump showed that the liberal order is hateful to him and that he wants out."

His unilateral tariffs now appear to have taken us into an all-but-openly-declared trade war with China, Russia, the European Union and anyone who does business with any of them.

His merciless policies toward children now interned along our border with Mexico, and his use of lies, irrelevant legal arguments, and the Bible to excuse them remind the world of nothing so much as the excuses offered for beating up and jailing children during civil rights demonstrations, the oh-so-legal internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, or worse the "legally-required" turning away of Jewish applicants for asylum during the same period.

Yet we are to believe what he tells us about his "duty," Kim, North Korea, and Peace in Our Time.

Hope springs eternal and talk is cheap.

We all hope that despite our worst fears the Korean peninsula may indeed change for the better.

On the other hand, read the words with which we began this column.

Though it reads much like a Trump sound bite, it's actually a paraphrase of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's speeches in London after returning from Munich, waving Hitler's signature on a meaningless piece of paper, and promising "Peace in Our Time."