US3 min(s) read
Published 20:05 19 Mar 2026 GMT
Trump makes wildly inappropriate Pearl Harbor joke in front of Japanese PM that leaves everyone stunned
Donald Trump made a Pearl Harbor joke in the Oval Office that left everyone completely stunned.
Worst of all, the Japanese Prime Minister was there at the time.
Donald Trump’s Pearl Harbor joke is not exactly out of character
We all know that Donald Trump pretty much says exactly what he is thinking.
From offensive comments made to multiple reporters to threats against other countries - most recently Iran - he is a straight shooter in the extreme.
While that rubs some people up the wrong way, his fans love it.
It really depends on where you stand on it all.
However, in this public engagement, it didn’t quite get the response that some of his jokes do.
That’s because he was referencing one of the darkest moments in the history of relations between Japan and the USA.
It’s not the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but it’s not far off.
Trump was greeting Japanese Prime Minister Sanar Takaichi at the White House when he was asked about the recent bombing of Iran during Operation Epic Fury.
His response left everyone shocked.
Donald Trump’s Pearl Harbor joke didn’t go down well
Trump had just been asked why the USA didn’t tell allies that it was about to bomb Iran as part of a joint operation with Israel.
To start with, Trump explained that the USA ‘went in very hard’ and ‘didn’t tell anybody because [they] wanted surprise’.
He then went off-script, adding: “Who knows better about surprise than Japan?”
After a bit of awkward laughter, he clarified the joke: “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?”
That remark was met with audible groans, before the room fell into an eerie silence.
Takaichi’s face dropped, clearly the joke didn’t land with her.
As she realized what Trump had said, her eyes told a whole story.
Then Trump returned to the matter at hand, stating: “He’s asking me about surprise, and we did.”
“And because of that surprise, we knocked out ... we probably knocked out 50 percent ... and much more than we anticipated doing.
“So if I go and tell everybody about it, there's no longer a surprise.”
Pearl Harbor was a brutal Japanese assault
The Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 left more than 2,400 US service personnel dead and injured a further 1,200 or so.
Four American battleships were sunk by the Japanese forces and it remained the most deadly attack on American turf until the events of 9/11 in 2001.
Perhaps not a laughing matter, then.
Still, nothing is off the table where Trump is concerned.