Trump is treating Kim Jong-un like a rival New York real estate developer

When I first heard Donald Trump threaten North Korea with “fire and fury,” I immediately despaired—because I’m sick and tired of hackneyed Game of Thrones references. Amongst American pundits, mentioning the hit show has become a desperate way of showing off one’s knowledge of popular culture. To that end, Steve Bannon isn’t Rasputin or Jean-Paul Marat; he’s Qyburn, of course, and Sean Spicer is Hodor. Now this lazy form of posturing has infiltrated even the highest levels of the United States government. What have we come to?

Despite its fantasy undertones, however, Trump’s “fire and fury” remark didn’t originate on HBO; it was improvised by the president during an event addressing the American opioid crisis (of all things) after he learned North Korea had alleged it could miniaturise a nuclear warhead and place it inside a ballistic missile. That left only my secondary concern about Trump’s remarks: they sounded like a threat to start a nuclear war.