Trump’s Most Excellent Weekend [OPINION]

President Donald Trump spent the weekend in face-to-face meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping, and then strolled across the DMZ into North Korea with Kim Jong Un before the two met behind closed doors for nearly an hour. It was an historic stroll that made Trump the first sitting president to ever visit North Korea.

What did you do this weekend?

Trump's high-level meeting with Putin was intended to send a message that the U.S. and its allies are prepared to see that Iran not obtain nuclear weapons. Trump is also upset that Putin is challenging him by placing warships and missiles in Cuba and Venezuela.

Trump and Xi are locked in hardcore discussions about trade. The Chinese have been allowed to get away with murder with trade policies that are more than favorable to China. The Chinese have also gotten away with the theft of intellectual property for years. Trump has vowed to balance the score.

What is interesting about the meeting with Kim is that it comes so soon after the summit in Vietnam reached an impasse. The two leaders obviously like each other and appear hell-bent on reaching an accord that would rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons, while introducing the "hermit kingdom" into the 21st century economically and diplomatically. The devil is in the details, but they seem determined to figure it out. Trump and Kim have expressed an interest in hosting each other when the time is right.

The meeting with Kim comes at a time when Trump's Middle East peace initiatives seem to be showing some promise. Trump has proposed a Marshall Plan of sorts for the Palestinians. It's an offer that might be just too good to turn down. Officials in both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain recently stated that the time has come to move beyond the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to a place of peace.

Who would have imaged just three short years ago that peace with North Korea was possible without bloodshed and that the Arab world would be talking about peace with Israel?

It's about time Trump started getting the credit he deserves for his initiatives.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.