By Hiroshi Tajima

8:00 JST, June 28, 2025

Is U.S. President Donald Trump a politician or a businessman?

The answer varies depending on who you ask. During my tenure as a Washington correspondent for The Yomiuri Shimbun from January 2021 to November 2024, I heard both perspectives across the country. Answering this question can help resolve the issue of how Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba should deal with Trump.

When I spoke to Trump supporters at his rallies, I always tried to ask why they supported him. The majority answered, “Because he’s a businessman.” They believed in Trump’s strong position on the economy and his understanding of the hearts of workers. Even Trump himself knows that he is more attractive to his supporters if he remains seen as a businessman.

However, the image of Trump that I formed while closely following him as a correspondent for the four years between his two administrations is completely different from the views of his supporters. From my perspective, he was a genuine politician and a former president. Every time I heard Trump supporters’ comments about him being a businessman, I muttered to myself: “It’s a facade. It’s a misunderstanding.”

But this had not been my first impression of him. In January........

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