• Source:JND
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US President Donald Trump, in his signature unfiltered style, on Thursday, referenced Japan's Pearl Harbour attack during World War II to explain his unexpected military operation in Iran, in the presence of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Trump Makes Pearl Harbour Joke In Front Of Japanese PM

The US President was holding a joint press conference with the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the Oval Office when he was asked why he did not inform his Asian allies, including Japan, about the US campaign against Iran.

In response, Trump said that he wanted it to be a surprise, drawing parallels to Japan's Pearl Harbour attack over eight decades ago.

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"One thing you don’t want to signal too much, you know, when we go in, we went in very hard. We didn’t tell anybody because we wanted it to be a surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbour?" Trump said.

"You believe in surprise, I think much more so than us," the US President added. At that, Takaichi's eyes widened, and she shifted in her seat, visibly uncomfortable as the room fell silent.

What Was Pearl Harbour Attack That Trump Referenced To?

The Pearl Harbour attack occurred over eight decades ago on December 4, 1941. Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, sinking battleships, destroying aircraft, and killing over 2,400 Americans.

This propelled the United States to enter World War II, which ended in 1945 with Japan's defeat after the US atomic bomb attacks of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed hundreds of thousands of civilians.

'I Am Not Putting Troops Anywhere': Trump

Trump on Thursday suggested that he was not looking at deploying more soldiers to the Middle East. When asked whether he was planning to deploy more service members to the region, Trump said, "I am not putting troops anywhere."

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This comes after Reuters reported that the Trump administration is weighing deploying thousands of additional US troops to bolster its military operation in the region amid disruptions in the crude oil markets.

At least 13 US service members have been killed since Iran began its military strikes on US military bases in the region following the outbreak of the conflict on February 28.


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