Trump explains why he kept Japan in the dark on Iran strikes: "Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"
CBSN
President Trump brought up Pearl Harbor while seated next to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office on Thursday, as he explained why the U.S. didn't give allies like Japan a heads-up before striking Iran. In:
President Trump brought up Pearl Harbor while seated next to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office on Thursday, as he explained why the U.S. didn't give allies like Japan a heads-up before striking Iran.
A Japanese reporter asked Mr. Trump why the U.S. didn't alert allies like Japan ahead of the Iran strikes, a decision that the reporter said "confused" the Japanese. The president, in his response, said his administration "didn't tell anyone" about the Feb. 28 military action in advance.
"Well one thing, you don't want to signal too much, you know?" Mr. Trump said. "When we go in, we went in very hard. And we didn't tell anyone about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? OK? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor? OK? Right?"
"We had to surprise them, and we did," the president said of Iran. "... If I go and tell everybody about it, there's no longer a surprise."
Takaichi appeared taken aback by the president's remarks, her eyes momentarily widening. Takaichi speaks some English but largely spoke through a translator at the event.
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