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Responding to a question on why allies were not informed in advance, Trump emphasised the element of surprise in military operations. “We wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” Trump said.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday (March 19) drew a controversial parallel between American strikes on Iran and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, as he defended his administration’s war strategy during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Washington.
Responding to a question on why allies were not informed in advance, Trump emphasised the element of surprise in military operations.
“We wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” Trump said.
“You believe in surprise, I think much more so than us,” he added.
Awkward moment in Oval Office
The remarks came during a bilateral meeting at the White House, highlighting the delicate diplomatic context of the comments.
Attack on Pearl Harbor: Surprise strike that drew US into WWII
Imperial Japan launched a surprise air attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, while the United States was still neutral in World War II.
The assault, planned by Isoroku Yamamoto, involved over 350 aircraft. Eight US battleships were hit, with four sunk, and more than 180 aircraft destroyed.
Around 2,400 Americans were killed and over 1,100 wounded, making it one of the deadliest attacks on US soil.
The United States declared war on Japan the next day, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt calling it “a date which will live in infamy,” marking America’s entry into World War II.
War aftermath
The United States ultimately defeated Japan in August 1945, days after atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, bringing an end to World War II.
English (US) ·