Trump’s high-risk doctrine? Swing for the bleacher seats

WASHINGTON (AP) — The way President Donald Trump sees it, why go for a solid single when you can swing for a home run?

Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is only the latest example of the president’s go-big strategy. From tax reform to international trade to foreign policy, Trump has pursued a high-risk, high-reward approach that advisers say can help produce results on longstanding problems — and that critics warn could trigger dangerous repercussions all the way from a trade war to global conflict.

Drawn to big moments and bigger headlines, Trump views the North Korea summit as a legacy-maker for him, believing that the combustible combination of his bombast and charm already has led to warmer relations between North and South. As he welcomed home three Americans who had been detained in North Korea, Trump early Thursday used a televised, middle-of-the-night ceremony to play up both his statecraft and stagecraft.

“I think you probably broke the all-time, in history, television rating for three o’clock in the morning,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews.

Trump has also played the disruptor’s role in recent weeks and months by withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, imposing sweeping tariffs on allies and announcing he’s moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, which is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians.

It’s all a sharp contrast to his play-it-safe predecessor.