Even for Donald Trump, the crack he made about Pearl Harbor was too much to bear for the civilized world and particuarly the Japanese. If you missed that epic moment in bad manners, we share the video with you here and the reactions of Japan to Trump. It was not America’s finest moment and it was definitely one of Trump’s worse.
Japanese Reporter: "Why didn't you tell US allies about the war before attacking Iran?"
Donald Trump: "Who knows better about surprises than Japan. Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?" pic.twitter.com/qCbh7QQLDi
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) March 19, 2026
Kudos to the Prime Minister for keeping a poker face. Meanwhile, this was the reaction back in her home, from Meidas Touch.
… NYT: “Trump’s meeting with PM Sanae Takaichi at the WH was the talk of Japan on Friday. But the focus wasn’t just on investment deals and geopolitics: It was on Trump’s Pearl Harbor joke. Many Japanese scholars, politicians and commentators were aghast.”
… “Some criticized Trump, saying he should not have revived a painful World War II chapter so casually. Others directed their anger at Takaichi, saying she should have spoken up. Still others said they were concerned that it might harm relations between Japan and the US.”
… Popular Japanese morning show host Toru Tamagawa on his broadcast: “This showed an unpleasant side of Trump. He doesn’t care at all that the Japanese prime minister is sitting next to him.”
… Izuru Makihara, a political science professor at Univ of Tokyo: “This is something that absolutely shouldn’t be said. He might start saying things like, ‘Hiroshima and Nagasaki were fine, weren’t they?’ For Japanese people, we can’t accept that.”
Even an American talk show host would have gauged this situation differently. But probably not a game show host and that’s the mentality we have in the Oval Office now. I’d say another black eye for America but at this point Trump has us bruised down to our toes.
This showed an unpleasant side of Trump.
As compared to . . . ?
The Japanese apparently understand the art of diplomacy or understatement or both!