Reportedly Trump could have stepped away from the perpetually raging Washington storm, especially since Congress is on a recess that could offer a timeout from his separation of powers showdown with Democrats, but asking Trump to avoid controversy is like expecting a moth to avoid a light bulb. So the President made a conscious choice to use his brief trip to Asia to whip up new outrage back home over the 2020 election and his handling of North korea.
Furthermore he sided with the official media of vicious dictator Kim Jong Un in an attack on his potential 2020 rival Joe Biden and by extension on the US democratic process. Meanwhile he could easily have sidestepped the issue but consistent with his norm-shattering political method, he chose to escalate it.
Moreover Trump might have been 13 time zones to the east, but he was burning up everyone's social media timelines and cable television, and demanding as much attention as ever. Apparently it was as if he were holed up in the White House or at one of his golf resorts like he is every other weekend and such ubiquity is vital for a President who has bet his second term squarely on an impassioned turnout from his political base, which he seeks to keep in a constant state of anger.
