Report: Trump Told Japanese PM Shinzo Abe ‘I Remember Pearl Harbor’

At a White House meeting in June, President Trump reportedly told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that “I remember Pearl Harbor,” then criticized the country’s economic policies. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that this was only one of the strange, inappropriate comments Trump has made in reference to Japan: He’s also repeatedly mentioned the country’s “samurai past.” The Post notes that these comments marked a strange turn in the Japan-U.S. relationship, given that Trump has spoken more with Abe than with any other leader, and has reportedly called the prime minister a “good friend.” But the Post adds that Trump’s attitude towards Japan has grown more negative in recent months, as he has repeatedly criticized Japan’s trade policy and stance on North Korea. “The early value Trump gained from Abe’s mentorship now seems less important to him,” a Japan expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told the Post. “Trump probably sees Abe now as someone who is often asking for something but not giving Trump what he wants.”