Trump mentions Pearl Harbor when asked about no Japan notice on Iran attacks
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President Donald Trump joked about Pearl Harbor on Thursday when asked whether Japan and other American allies were given advance notice of an attack on Iran, saying the United States “wanted a surprise.”
Trump made the comment while sitting across from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a bilateral meeting at the White House.
A reporter asked Trump, “Japan and the United States are very good friends, but there is one question; why did you not tell the United States’ allies in Europe and Asia, such as Japan, about the war before attacking Iran? Then we, as Japanese citizens, are very confused.”
“One thing is, you don’t want to give too many signals,” the President responded. “You know, when we went in, we went in hard and didn’t tell anyone about it because we wanted to surprise. Who knows the surprise better than Japan? Okay? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor? Okay? Right?”
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President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the White House Oval Office on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
“You know, he asked me, ‘Do you believe in surprises?’ he asks. I think so much more than we do. And we had to surprise them. And that’s what we did,” Trump continued. “And because of that surprise, we knocked out the first two days, probably 50% of what we did and a lot more than we expected. So if I go and tell everyone about it, there won’t be any surprises anymore, right?”
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, seated with Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Earlier in the meeting, Trump told reporters: “We’re taking this trip. And when it’s completed, we’re going to have a much safer world. The Prime Minister agrees with me on that.”“
“Iran is a serious threat to the world, the Middle East and the world. And everyone agrees with me,” Trump said. “I think almost every country agrees with me on this. That’s why I wanted to put out that fire.”
Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of the U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury strike against Iran, March 3, 2026. (US Navy/Report via Reuters)
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Operation Epic Fury, launched by the USA on February 28, is on its 20th day as of Thursday.
