PoliticsDonald Trump Makes Awkward Joke About Pearl Harbor in Front of Uncomfortable Japanese Prime Minister: Watch
'Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?' the president quipped to a Japanese reporter.
March 19 2026, Published 5:36 p.m. ET
Donald Trump can't help himself from making cringeworthy jokes.
In an uncomfortable moment on Thursday, March 19, the POTUS made an awkward quip about Japan's infamous 1941 bombing of American military base Pearl Harbor with the nation's prime minister sitting right beside him.
When a Japanese reporter asked Trump, 79, why he didn't warn U.S. allies, like Japan, before attacking Iran last month, he replied, "We didn't tell anyone about it, because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Okay, why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"
A Japanese reporter asked Donald Trump why he didn't inform U.S. allies, like Japan, before attacking Iran on February 28.
Japan's Sanae Takaichi looked irritated by the joke.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi could be seen drawing a deep breath and looking uncomfortable after he made the comment.
"You believe in surprise, I think, much more so than us," the president added.
However, according to the U.S. Department of Defense, Japan didn't inform the U.S. about its attack on Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of Oahu because the countries were not allies at the time.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Still Praised Donald Trump
The two leaders complimented each other during the meeting.
Japan was aligned with the Nazi Germany and fascist Italy then, and attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet docked at Pearl Harbor as a preventative strike so they could seize vital oil-rich territories.
Despite Trump's joke, Takaichi complimented the Republican leader during their Oval Office meeting, telling him, "Even against that backdrop [of war], I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world."
Trump responded by describing Japan's first female prime minister as a "popular powerful woman."
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'I Expect Japan to Step Up'
Donald Trump is asking for help in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
Their meeting at the White House comes as Trump has called on U.S. allies to offer aid weeks after he, along with Israel's help, unleashed a major military offensive against Iran.
"I expect Japan to step up you know, because we have that kind of relationship," Trump said on Thursday.
It's unclear what type of support Japan will offer.
'The U.S. and Israel Did Not Consult Us Before the War'
Other U.S. allies want no part in the war.
Meanwhile, some foreign nations have outright refused Trump's request, with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer telling reporters on Monday, "While taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war."
Germany also rejected the POTUS' pleas, per Politico's reporting.
A spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday said: "I would also like to remind you that the U.S. and Israel did not consult us before the war, and that Washington explicitly stated at the start of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired."
