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Trump Makes Pearl Harbor Joke In Meeting With Japan’s Prime Minister
President Donald Trump made a joke about the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941, which led the United States into World War II, during a press conference with Japan’s prime minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday. The president has been pressing Japan’s leader for military help in the Middle East to ease the oil crisis.
“Who knows better about surprise than Japan?” Reporter: “Why didn’t you tell U.S. allies in Europe and Asia, like Japan, about the war before attacking Iran?” “The one thing you don’t want to signal too much. When we go in, we went in very hard and we didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OKr? Reporter: “Do you intend to potentially put U.S. troops or more troops in the region?” “No, I’m not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you. I hate to make this excursion, but we’re going to have to do it. I wanted to put out that fire and I said, if I do that, oil prices will go up. The economy will go down a little bit. I thought it would be worse, much worse, actually. I thought there was a chance it could be much worse. It’s not bad, and it’s going to be over with pretty soon.” Reporter: “If the war is almost over, why is the Pentagon going to ask Congress for an additional $200 billion?” “Well, we’re asking for a lot of reasons beyond even what we’re talking about in Iran. This is a very volatile world. So we’re in very good shape. But we want to be in the best shape, the best shape we’ve ever been in. We want to be sure, and it’s a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top.”
President Donald Trump made a joke about the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941, which led the United States into World War II, during a press conference with Japan’s prime minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday. The president has been pressing Japan’s leader for military help in the Middle East to ease the oil crisis.
By Meg Felling
March 19, 2026
