Trump ribs Japanese PM on Pearl Harbor in Oval Office talk on Iran

President Trump ribbed the nation of Japan over its World War II bombing of Pearl Harbor in a Thursday Oval Office meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Taking questions from reporters, Trump said he would call on a “beautiful person from Japan.”

Asked why he didn’t tell allies like Japan about the conflict in Iran ahead of time, Trump invoked the Dec. 7, 1941 bombing in Hawaii. 

“You don’t want to signal too much… We didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise,” he responded. 

“Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” Trump added jokingly to Takaichi.

The 1941 incident resulted in the U.S. entry into World War II.

The prime minister and the president were set to discuss trade and energy costs, among other issues, as the Iran conflict has led to soaring oil prices worldwide.

Takaichi said in her own remarks that the global economy is set to take a “huge hit” from the war.

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