Trump’s Pearl Harbor Joke Makes Japan’s Prime Minister Cringe, The World, Too

Source: JIM WATSON / Getty

The latest gaffe by President Donald Trump referred back to a key moment of World War II, as Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited the White House on Thursday (March 19). As they took questions, a reporter from the Japanese press asked Trump why the U.S. didn’t inform allies before attacking Iran, along with Israel, late last month.

“We didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise,” Trump replied before adding: “Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” The answer left many in the room silent, as Takaichi registered a look of supressed embarassment as she leaned back in her chair.

Trump referenced the surprise Japanese attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet, which was stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 which took the lives of 2,400 military personnel and prompted the nation to enter World War II. He went on to praise Japan for “stepping up” to aid efforts in securing the Strait of Hormuz, “unlike NATO.” 

Takaichi had previously said that Japan was examining what support it could offer within the framework of its law. Its Self-Defense Forces are directed by a pacifist constitution, which prohibits the threat or use of force to settle international conflicts, which was established in the wake of the dismantling of its military state post-World War II.

The gaffe comes after Trump publicly called out NATO countries for not getting involved in the war with Iran earlier in the week. “This is not our war, we have not started it,” said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in response, according to CNBC. That position was echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The video of Trump’s Pearl Harbor remark went viral, causing many to express their disgust. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, user Arin Yuni wrote that even the translators for Japanese news outlets were taken aback, writing that “when Trump dropped the Pearl Harbor joke the translators were audibly lost for words and paused for a few seconds in disbelief.”

1. Jon Cooper