The Kim-Trump summit should not be interpreted through the lens of Northeast Asia alone. In important ways, it was a test case for President Trump’s approach to international relations more generally: ad hoc, highly personalized and transactional.

And as the reviews accumulate, it is clear that the summit is getting pretty critical treatment at home.

Nicholas Kristoff at the New York Times was early out of the blocks, but the sentiment extended to the right of the political spectrum as well (for example, Bruce Klingner on NPR). Outside the administration’s supporters, assessments range from “wait and see” to “debacle.”