Trump jokes about Pearl Harbor during meeting with Japan PM
U.S. President Donald Trump made a controversial remark referencing Pearl Harbor during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House, reports a Qazinform News Agency correspondent.
Speaking to reporters alongside the Japanese leader, Trump was asked why the United States had not informed its allies in advance about its recent military action against Iran. In response, he emphasized the importance of maintaining operational secrecy.
“You don’t want to signal too much. We went in very hard and we didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise,” Trump said.
He then made a remark referring to Japan’s 1941 attack on U.S. forces in Hawaii, adding: “Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?”
Turning to the audience with a laugh, Trump continued: “He’s asking me. You believe in surprise, I think, much more so than us. We had to surprise them. And we did.”
The reference was widely noted due to the historical significance of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which took place in 1941 and resulted in the deaths of more than 2,400 U.S. service members. The strike, along with simultaneous attacks in the Philippines and Guam, prompted the United States to enter World War II.
Despite the wartime history, the United States and Japan have maintained close allied relations since the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco in 1951, which formally ended the war and marked the beginning of a long-standing partnership.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that the United States Commission of Fine Arts, a federal agency, had approved plans for a commemorative gold coin featuring one of Donald Trump’s recent presidential portraits.
